In Too Deep
by October Ashes
Summary: Pete Gas has to evaluate his morals with the help of his girlfriend, Sarah Matthews, before he decides which McMahon he wants to side with during some of the most challenging months in WWF history. His decision might damage his relationship with his best friends, especially with the other members of the Mean Street Posse. Set before/during the Invasion.
1. Chapter 1

In Too Deep

Chapter 1

"I can't believe the crazy son of a bitch just did that."

Sarah Matthews, a college student by trade and a secret wrestling fan by night, turned to look at her high school sweetheart, Pete Gasparino, better known to the wrestling fans as Pete Gas, one third of the faction the Mean Street Posse.

"You have to give him some credit though, Pete," Rodney Leinhardt interrupted Sarah's train of thought as he waved a fork around for emphasis. "It's a ballsy thing to do at that age."

Sarah looked back at the television in front of her. Everyone in the world was watching the last broadcast of WCW Nitro, as Ted Turner had sold the company to Vince McMahon. Seemingly out of the blue, Vince's young overzealous son, Shane, purchased the company from under Vince's nose live on national television. It was certainly a day wrestling fans would never forget for as long as they lived.

"Hell, if Vince was waiting til WrestleMania to make Ted deliver the papers and look like an asshole in front of every wrestling fan in the world... I seriously commend Shane for his actions. He saved Turner a lot of embarrassment." Jason "Joey Abs" Arhndt stated.

"Isn't that the point, though? Embarrass him for everything he put Vince through over the years? You know, like stealing Vince's top stars from their contracts?" Pete asked.

"Well... Maybe... But, let's face it… Shane is resourceful. Always has been." Rodney replied, now directing his fork towards whatever was inside the Chinese food container he was hugging to his chest.

"He's twenty-four years old, Rodney. He shouldn't be meddling in things he couldn't possibly understand." Sarah piped up, feeling tired of being left out of the conversation.

All three sets of eyes turned to look at her. Rodney nearly choked on his food trying not to laugh at her words, although the evil glare he received from Pete told him to back off.

"Oh. You're serious?" Rodney once again started choking as a way to excuse himself from the conversation.

"You'd be surprised, Sarah... Seriously, you act like we haven't known each other since we were kids." Joey offered.

"Listen, Sarah," Sarah turned her attention to Pete. "Shane isn't... I mean... He's not stupid when it comes to this business. He's been living it since he was an infant. He knows his stuff. I mean, I agree with you in a sense that he shouldn't have purchased WCW on a whim, but... He's stubborn, like his old man, and he's gonna do anything to get back at him for all of the years he spent with an absentee dad."

"It was still a stupid decision to make, Pete... He's still the guy we grew up with."

"Wait, now I'm confused," Sarah turned her attention back to Rodney, who put his fork down and was massaging his temple with his free hand. "Are you pissed at Shane for buying WCW or are you getting sentimental because the thirteen year old you had a dopey girl crush on is all grown up now and bought a business to get back at his dad?"

Sarah's blush was immediate, although it soon faded and she glared angrily at Rodney. "I thought you promised you would never mention that again?"

"Especially in front of me." Pete growled.

Rodney chuckled. "Yeah, sorry. I was just testing," Rodney stopped talking for all of a minute before he finally decided he liked the sound of his voice too much. "So it's a bit of both, then?"

"Goddamnit, Leinhardt! I'm going to kick your ass!"

Sarah watched as Pete catapulted himself from his seat to land on top of Rodney. Luckily for both of them, Rodney threw the container of Chinese food into Joey's ready hands, so the two were able to go through their "fight" completely food-free.

That is, until Vince McMahon nearly banged down the door.

"What do you four know about what just happened?!" Vince shouted.

Rodney and Pete immediately backed away from one another. Although, they had to admit, it wouldn't be out of the norm for Vince to witness a play fight between any member of the Posse and his son... But those days were long gone, no matter how hard it was to admit, and now they were all working in the same business.

"Absolutely nothing. We're just as surprised as you are." Pete replied, fixing his shirt and attempting to fix Rodney's hair.

Vince watched them with a quirked eyebrow. "Somehow I doubt that."

"Seriously, Mr. McMahon. We haven't spoken to Shane since you had Hunter kick his ass last week on Raw..." Joey stated.

Vince nearly snarled at the Posse. "Oh? And what did he say then?"

"Well, to be honest, he didn't really know which way was up... So he didn't do a lot of talking."

"So he never mentioned WCW?" Vince asked.

"For the last time, no. We haven't heard those letters come out of his mouth in months." Rodney replied.

Vince looked over at Sarah. "You?"

"Nope. I haven't been around in awhile... Been busy with school. I haven't heard any gossip from the girls, either."

"So you mean to tell me that Shane did this completely at random and without anyone to back him?" Vince questioned.

"I guess." Pete sheepishly responded.

"Kinda ballsy of him, no?" Rodney teased.

Pete elbowed Rodney in the stomach. "Shut up, stupid."

"It's alright, Pete," Pete and Rodney turned to look at Vince. "Rodney's right. It is pretty ballsy of him... Probably makes Shane the youngest wrestling organization owner of our time... Maybe even in history."

"So you're not mad?" Sarah asked, confused.

"I'm not sure. I was severely pissed off... I probably still am irritated... But that's one hell of an accomplishment he just made. Can't help but be a little proud."

Sarah and the Posse continued staring at Vince as he mumbled to himself, turned and left the room. As soon as the door closed, Rodney slapped Pete upside the head.

"That's for elbowing me, jerk!" Rodney shouted.

"Alright, Uncle!"

Sarah waited patiently for everyone to calm down and resume doing what they were doing before Vince barged in. Rodney continued stuffing his face, Joey was working on a crossword puzzle and Pete was browsing through a book.

"So... What do you think happens next?"

"Not sure, really... Hopefully nothing too drastic."

* * *

**A/N: Hello everyone. It's kind of crazy that, not even a week after I finish Thanks For The Memories, I'm starting a new fic. Isn't it weird? Anyway, this was a request from Sarah-Frog-Brothers-Fan. I hope you enjoyed the first chapter, chicky! There's gonna be a lot more drama and excitement to come!**

**As I type this, I've started to edit my other stories [mostly Dark Reflections, When Will it End? and Thanks For The Memories] so that they're up to par with my forever rising standards. I know I just finished TFTM, but I noticed some errors while reading it and it irks me to the point where I just have to fix it.**

**I hope you guys are familiar with the Invasion storyline from 2001. If not, let me know, and I'll try to explain as much as humanly possible in this fic. **

**I once again want to say that, if you have a story request, message it to me. We'll discuss details and I'll start working on it as soon as possible.**

**Thanks for checking this fic out!**


	2. Chapter 2

In Too Deep

Chapter 2

"Hey, guys!"

Pete, Rodney, Joey and Sarah stopped in their tracks and turned around. As fate would have it, their childhood friend was standing behind them with a large smile on his face. Rodney damn near dropped the jar of peanut butter he was clinging on to, whereas Joey most definitely dropped his can of soda, making Shane look at them confusedly.

"What's the matter?" He asked.

The three men glanced at one another, trying to come up with an excuse. Sure, the guy standing in front of them was the same person they grew up with, but things were a whole lot more awkward now that he had purchased WCW. It had only been six days - as they were currently in the Houston Astrodome gearing up for WrestleMania 17 - but that didn't make the awkwardness go away. It was the first time they were seeing him since he got his hands on the failing wrestling business.

"Um... Nothing." Joey stated.

Shane had a skeptic look on his face. "Somehow, I doubt that. I've known you guys for a while now..," Shane looked everyone in the eyes for a mere moment, then looked away. "Alright... I figured it out. It's the fact I bought WCW."

"It was a... Messed up thing to do..." Pete stammered.

"'Messed up?' How the hell was that messed up, Pete? My dad was going to humiliate a successful businessman tonight and all you can tell me is that it was messed up to buy the business? Not even a 'holy shit, Shane, that was damn impressive' but a half-assed 'it was a messed up thing to do?'" Shane asked.

"Might I point out that Pete doesn't speak for all of us..." Rodney replied with a mouth full of peanut butter.

Shane chuckled. "Goddamn, Rod, please don't talk with your mouth full."

Rodney, somehow, swallowed the peanut butter in his mouth. "Sorry. But, yeah. As I was saying... Pete doesn't speak for all of us. I thought it was pretty cool, Shane-O. It was real ballsy of you to go out and do something like that... You just have to realize that not everyone is going to feel the same way..."

"I know that much. I was just hoping my closest friends would be a little more supportive of me."

"How do you expect them to be supportive of your split-second decision? They work for your father and you're putting them in an awkward situation by purchasing the rival company... And the boss of said rival company wished death on your father on live television for years, by the way." Sarah remarked.

Shane looked at her with an eyebrow raised. "How is talking to me an awkward situation? I've known them since before my father became their boss."

"Because you're standing in front of them as the owner of WCW, Shane. Whether you want to admit it or not." Sarah replied, fixing Shane with a glare.

"Well... Do the three of you feel that way?"

Pete, Rodney and Joey turned to look at one another. One by one, they turned to look back at Shane.

"Not really... It's just... Weird. Ya know? I mean, we grew up with you, man. You bled World Wrestling Federation. Never in a million years did we imagine you, of all people, buying WCW out from under your dads nose. I mean, the fans loved it, but it's just... It's gonna take awhile to get used to." Rodney replied.

Sarah turned to look at the Posse. "Seriously? How could the three of you sell me out like that?"

"We see things from the business side of it..." Joey stated.

"That's not the point, Joey."

"That's exactly the point, Sarah. You don't work in this line of business, so don't stick your nose where it doesn't belong."

"Joey!" Pete shouted.

"Don't 'Joey' me, Pete. You know I'm right. She shouldn't get involved in this fight. Shane bought WCW. The end. He's obviously still allowed at WWF events, and I'd imagine he still has stock in the business. His last name is 'McMahon,' and, last time I checked, when it comes to the wrestling business, that last name literally translates to: don't mess with this person. People get in trouble when they do. Hell, we grew up with him! How does him buying WCW change anything we did as kids? He's still our friend!"

Pete and Sarah stared at Joey with their mouths gaped open, Rodney froze with a spoon in his mouth, and Shane blinked, staring at Joey with a rather impressed look on his face.

"Wow." Rodney finally stated, taking the spoon out of his mouth and returning it to the jar of peanut butter. Everyone watched as he scooped out another spoonful of peanut butter and promptly ate it.

"Why are you cradling a jar of peanut butter?" Shane finally asked, hearing the relieved sighs of the three people who were wondering the same thing but didn't want to ask.

"I eat peanut butter when I'm nervous." Rodney replied, stuffing his mouth with yet another spoonful of JIF.

"Lord." Shane remarked, staring at Rodney in sarcastic bemusement.

"Are you gonna watch our match tonight?" Pete asked, trying to get the attention away from Rodney.

"You bet your asses I am. You guys had better get those Tag Titles. I've been waiting to see you wear those for two years now." Shane replied with a friendly smile on his face.

"We've been waiting to win them." Joey stated, giving Rodney and Pete an elbow to the ribs.

"Can't you see I'm eating, here?!" Rodney shouted.

Shane raised a concerned eyebrow. "Please stop talking with your mouth full... You're gonna hurt yourself."

"So, what's next for you now that you own WCW?" Sarah asked.

Shane shrugged his shoulders. "No idea... I honestly didn't put much thought into it other than the fact I didn't want my dad to humiliate a billionaire at WrestleMania. That's the biggest slap to the face in wrestling history."

"Shane... You know we love you... But... I don't think this is right. Why don't you sell the company to your dad?"

Shane's eyes widened. "What?"

"Sarah... Please don't start in with him..." Pete stated, massaging his temples.

"I was just asking." Sarah replied.

"In that case... I worked damn hard to get WCW without my dad finding out, and I'll be damned if I sell it to him without a second thought. Sarah, you know I love you, and I respect your opinion, but I... I'd rather not give up on it just yet. I wanna see where the writers take it."

"Are you sure that's a good idea, though?" Sarah inquired.

Shane looked her in the eyes. "Nope."


	3. Chapter 3

In Too Deep  
Chapter 3

The Mean Street Posse and Sarah hadn't seen Vince McMahon this desperate in a very long time.

Nearly a month had gone by since WrestleMania 17. Vince was still getting mocked for what had happened during his match against his son, that being his "medicated" wife rising from her chair to kick him in the groin, the special guest referee [Mick Foley] beating him into the corner, his son performing his own version of the Van Terminator on him and easily picking up the victory. They couldn't really blame anyone for mocking him, as the majority of the guys backstage thought it was hilarious, but they didn't really agree with Vince's revenge towards his son.

That being sicking the Big Show on him.

Vince was somehow able to squash the existence of WCW as of late, sans for Shane walking around backstage and speaking to several of the wrestlers in the WWF. Vince, however, was able to convince the Big Show to act like he was going to jump ships to WCW, then turn his back on Shane. He even took it far enough to use Shane's friendship with Andrew "Test" Martin against him.

Tonight, however, just so happened to be the night of Backlash, where the Posse would be defending their tag titles against the Hardy Boyz in a ladder match, and Shane would be taking on Big Show in a Last Man Standing match. Vince thought Shane would be hopeless in the match, and everyone backstage was absolutely appalled that he would allow the seven-foot-two giant to compete with his twenty-four year old son in such a match.

The Posse had easily won their match and retained their titles, as Jeff Hardy had sore ribs and Matt was competing with a bruised ankle. Pete and Joey took care of them in no time at all. Rodney wasn't able to finish eating whatever he was clutching to his chest, nor did Sarah have time to think to herself before they returned to the locker room.

The arena was buzzing, and everyone backstage was left in shock, when Shane jumped off of the forty-five foot tall TitanTron scaffolding to drop an elbow on the Big Show.

"Just like he said in that made-up fairytale. Remember? 'Up to the top of the mighty beanstalk. The people were stunned, they could barely talk. The fairytale ends with a mighty crash landing. When it was all said and done, Shane O Mac was the last man standing.'" Joey had said immediately after it happened.

After Shane was declared the winner, Pete, Joey and Rodney bolted out of the room to see if he was okay. Although she wouldn't quite admit it to certain people, Sarah was the first one out of the room. Not to mention, she was the one to find Andrew, who was carrying the young McMahon over his shoulder.

"Is he okay?" Pete asked once he caught his breath from running.

"I'm not sure. He was mumbling before."

"Why the hell would you tell him to jump?!" Rodney shouted.

Andrew narrowed his eyes angrily. "Shane knew he had to do something crazy to win... You heard that stupid fairytale he told. He had it in the back of his mind. I egged him on. I had to. You wanted him to win, right?"

"Yeah..." Rodney mumbled, looking down at a can of something-or-other in his hand.

"Alright, then. Shut up about it. He should be okay... I think he just got he wind knocked out of him..."

No sooner did the words leave Andrew's mouth, Vince stormed over to the group.

"Give me my son, dammit!"

That was nearly twenty minutes ago. Vince made Andrew put Shane down in the corner and was still hovering over him, waiting for him to wake up and not allowing a single person near him. The Posse, Sarah and Andrew stood several feet away from Vince, looking at him in mild shock.

"He does know that, when Shane wakes up, he's going to punch him in the face, right?" Joey asked.

"Why the hell would you suggest that?" Pete questioned, whirling around to face Joey as he did so.

"Maybe because his dearest father is the one who put him in that situation in the first place?" Joey retorted, making Pete sigh and turn away to face Sarah.

"What do you think?"

Sarah scoffed. "Right now, I really don't know what to think or say... That was absolute insanity. What Shane did is... Psychiatric evaluation worthy. I'm still speechless from that match, and I'm twice as speechless looking over at Vince and seeing how desperate he is to see Shane open his eyes... You know, with the way they've been getting along recently."

Pete nodded. "Yeah, I totally understand. But, hey, that's his kid. I'm sure you'd be overprotective as all living hell if your son just did something that freaking outrageous to end a dangerous situation you put him in..."

"I suppose so."

Pete smiled at her, but the smile turned into a frown when he noticed her shiver. "Are you cold?"

Sarah shrugged her shoulders. "A little."

"When we're so close to May?" Joey asked, raising a confused eyebrow.

"I'm almost always cold." Sarah glared at Joey, making him raise his hands in defeat.

Sarah smiled when Pete handed her his oversized hoodie. "Here, this'll keep you warm."

"Dude. It's spring. Why the hell are you carrying a hoodie with you?" Andrew asked.

"Big people get cold, too." Pete dead-panned, making Rodney nearly choke to death on his diced peaches.

"Dude. Seriously? Your childhood friend is lying on the floor no more than ten feet away from you and has been unconscious for almost a half an hour. Are you really _**eating**_ at a time like this?!" Andrew shouted.

Rodney audibly gulped in fear. "Ummmm... I eat when I'm nervous."

"I thought you ate peanut butter when you're nervous?" Sarah asked, confused eyebrow quirked.

Rodney glanced at her, then looked down at the can of Dole Diced Peaches in his hand. "I ran out of peanut butter during Shane's match..."

"Lord." Andrew stated, in the exact same tone Shane had used less than a month before.

Pete smirked. "Looks like Shane rubs off on everyone, huh?"

Andrew looked at him with an eyebrow raised. "What are you talking about?"

"Never mind... Story for another time, I guess."

"Shane?"

Pete, Rodney, Sarah, Joey and Andrew turned to see Vince had backed off a little and was kneeling down to look Shane, who sat up and started rubbing his face, in the eyes. It took Shane a moment to realize who he was looking at, but once he did, he pushed Vince away with whatever strength he had left [which wasn't much judging by the fact Vince barely moved], and tried to back away from the older man.

"Get 'way from me."

They watched as Vince reached out to try and steady Shane, but the younger man continued fussing and clumsily backing away from his father.

"Would you stop it, Shane?! I just want to make sure you're-"

"I said get away from me!"

"Vince, maybe you should-"

"Shut the hell up, Andrew!"

"Don't tell Andrew to shut up!"

"Rodney, stay out of this."

"Don't tell me what to do, Pete!"

"Would you two stop arguing?"

"Shut up, Joey!"

"You shut up! This has nothing to do with either of you!"

"Same could be said for you!"

"Honestly, Pete. Whose side are you on?"

"Team Posse!"

"Shane is in the Posse, stupid!"

"Shane hasn't been in the Posse since he joined forces with that lunatic."

"Hey, don't drag me into your petty Posse problems."

"Tee hee, three p's."

"You're so immature, Rodney. Go finish eating your peaches."

"Make me!"

"I'm going to shove that can of peaches so far up your ass, you'll wish you ate them with your mouth!"

"That's disgusting, Joey."

"Can you four shut the hell up, please?!"

"We're not done arguing about... Wait, what the hell are we fighting over?"

Sarah and Shane looked at one another and rolled their eyes in annoyance. The Posse, Andrew and Vince were shouting at one another for no reason whatsoever. Not to mention, their argument was getting loud enough that several backstage personnel, as well as wrestlers, passed by to see what the hell was going on. Sarah watched as Shane stood up, pretty much by leaning against the wall and sliding upwards, and used the wall to guide himself over to her.

"How long do you think they're going to continue this?" Shane asked.

Sarah shrugged. "Don't know. I think it's mostly stress from seeing you knocked out for so long. They all care about you, ya know."

Shane smiled at her and nodded his head, although his movements were sluggish and jerky. "I know. Believe me, I do. It's just... Sometimes, you gotta do something crazy and extreme to win, ya know?"

"You sound and look drunk." Sarah commented.

Shane scoffed. "That's what happens when you jump from forty-five feet in the air. Your head gets all crazy... Why are you wearing a hoodie when May is a couple of days away?"

Sarah sighed in relief - no concussion. "I'm cold."

"Ah. You're just doing that so you can get Pete's hoodie... Ris does the same thing to me."

Sarah smiled at him. "And how is Marissa?"

Shane shrugged. "Dunno. She was supposed to be here tonight..."

"Shane!"

"God almighty," Shane whirled around to face Vince. "What!?" He shouted.

Vince narrowed his eyes semi-angrily. "Don't you dare take that tone with me! I'm concerned about you! Are you okay?"

Shane sighed. "Yes, I'm fine. Thanks for your _mild_ concern."

"'Mild?' My concern is legitimate, Shane, as I just proved to your four assclown friends."

"That's my term, junior!" The voice of Chris Jericho echoed down the hall, although nobody knew where it was coming from.

Everyone blinked confusedly.

"Um. Anyway... Yeah. I just proved to your four friends that my concern is legitimate. You're my son, no matter what company you get involved in."

"You're just pissed because I'm your son, I own twenty-five percent of this company and I own WCW."

Vince growled. "Too put it frankly, yes."

"Well... Let me tell you this," Shane straightened himself out. Everyone let it sink in that he was actually _taller_ than Vince. "From here on out, WCW is going to be revamped. I'm going to help the company get back to what it was, and I sure as hell am going to help the company kick your damn ass."

Vince looked somewhat afraid. "Shane, we can talk about this..."

"No, dad. Any conversation we might have had about this died when you decided to let the Big Show attack Andrew and I. What happened tonight was a result of you pushing me a _tad_ too far. What's going to happen in the months to come is a result of you. Just keep that in mind."

Everyone watched, in shock, as Shane turned around and walked away from his father.

"Well, now... That was interesting." Andrew was, thankfully for the Posse, the first one who was brave enough to speak.

Vince turned to look at Andrew, then glared at the Posse. "You four know anything about any plans he might have?"

"No."

"...Do you think he'll change his mind once he gets some rest and calms down?" Vince asked.

"No."

Vince sighed. "I was afraid of that..."

* * *

**A/N: Who else remembers Shane and the Beanstalk? I remember being a wee lass when he read that on the April 26, 2001 edition of Smackdown... I can't tell you how many times I watched it, but I memorized the whole thing in less than five days and had Shane's mannerisms down pat. Yet another reason why my friends called me Shane O Mac, lol.**

**So, now the real Invasion begins. Just gotta get over Shane's feud with Kurt Angle and add some stuff for the Posse to do.**


	4. Chapter 4

In Too Deep  
Chapter 4

Sarah sat down in the Posse locker room, glancing at the TV every so often.

Joey and Rodney were in the ring, defending the tag titles against the Dudley Boyz. Pete wasn't feeling too well, so he was sitting next to her on the couch.

A little over a week had gone by since Backlash. Not much happened when it came to WCW, but Sarah and the Posse were sure Shane was cooking something up.

"The longer he takes, the more sinister it's going to be." Joey had said.

Sarah and Pere were reluctant to agree, but Shane had always been the type to put a lot of thought into revenge. It worried them, to be honest.

Pete sniffled and coughed. "Damn this cold."

Sarah patted his back and rubbed his head. "Can I get you anything?"

"A plunger or some Drain-O to clear my sinuses would be awesome..."

"I doubt that would make you feel any better, dear..."

Pete pouted. "But..."

"Have you tried taking actual medicine?" Sarah asked.

"Duh."

"Then try taking a nap."

Pete sighed and lowered his head until it rested on Sarah's shoulder. Before Sarah knew it, Pete was lightly snoring in her ear.

Joey and Rodney came barreling through the locker room door several moments later. They were absolutely beaming over their victory - undoubtedly without cheating - and hugging their titles close.

Sarah watched - unfazed by now - as Rodney put the title over his shoulder, walked over to his bag and pulled out the half-eaten jar of peanut butter. He pulled a spoon out of his pocket and resumed eating.

"Sup?" He asked once he realized Sarah was staring at him.

"Um... Nothing, I guess."

Rodney nodded his head and looked back at his peanut butter. Joey rolled his eyes in disgust and looked back over at Pete and Sarah. "How does he sleep with all the noise we make?" Joey asked.

"I ask myself that all the time." Sarah replied.

"He simply chooses to ignore you and hopes you'll go away... Eventually." Pete sleepily admitted.

"Well, now... Screw you, buddy." Joey stated, a sly smile playing on his features.

"Sooo... When are you two tying the knot?"

Sarah, Pete and Joey turned to look at Rodney with their eyebrows raised. "What?"

"I don't speak peanut butter." Pete stated.

Rodney nodded and waited until his mouth was empty. "I said... When are you two tying the knot?"

Joey watched as Sarah and Pete exchanged a semi-terrified glance, then dropped himself onto the couch next to Pete and threw his arm over Pete's shoulder.

"Pete proposed just last night. We're going to have a winter wedding... So figure about February 2002?"

Pete laughed, then shrugged away from Joey and pushed him. "Get outta here, man..."

"Seriously, though. When are you two getting married?" Joey asked.

"Dunno." Pete replied.

"Don't let go of her, man. She's good for you," Joey walked over to the door and opened it after someone knocked. "Oh, hey, Shane-O."

"Hiya, Joey. Great match."

"Thanks, buddy. Come on in."

Joey ushered Shane into the locker room and closed the door behind him.

"Nice to see you guys... You feeling okay, Pete?" Shane asked.

"Not really... I'm a bit under the weather, but I'll be okay."

Shane smiled. "That's good to hear... Rodney... Is there ever a time when I'll see you and you won't be eating?"

Joey chuckled and turned to look at Rodney. "Doubt it."

Rodney shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe if I don't constantly see you here..." He offered.

Shane smiled at him. "You're going to be seeing a lot more of me, Rod... That's one of the reasons I'm here, actually. WCW is doing very well right now. I've been able to keep a lot of talent on, and I was wondering if you guys wanted to join me..?"

The Posse exchanged a look.

"You mean... Go to work for WCW?" Pete asked.

Shane nodded. "That's what I mean."

The Posse looked around at one another again.

"You can't ask them to make that decision right now." Sarah interrupted.

"I'm not. I was just putting it out there for them to think about. The Invasion is going to begin sometime in the next two months. Not sure about a date right now, but that's what I've got. So, let me know before June ends, alright?"

"What's the Invasion?" Joey asked.

Shane smirked. "I can't tell you as long as you're still working for the WWF."

"So if we came to work for WCW..?" Rodney asked.

"You'll learn every secret I have."

The Posse once again looked around at one another.

"We'll think about it."


	5. Chapter 5

In Too Deep  
Chapter 5

Several short days later, Rodney and Pete were wandering around the halls looking for Joey. It wasn't exactly like him to not contact them, let alone not travel with them to the arena.

"What do you think happened? Problems at home?" Rodney asked.

Pete shot a glance Rodney's way and was happy to see he wasn't eating anything, so he turned to look at him. "No idea, man. It's not like him to not contact us... We haven't spoken to him since after Raw the other night."

Rodney sighed. "I know. That's why I'm worried. It's not like him."

Pete looked down the hall and saw Shane lurking around, looking up and down the halls for security guards. A part of him wondered why Shane even bothered looking for them, as everyone knew nobody had the balls to throw the young McMahon out, but the other part figured it was all an act, anyway.

Rodney was slightly alarmed when he saw Pete walk faster down the hall, but when he noticed Shane was standing there, he quickened his pace to catch up to Pete.

"Shane-O!"

Shane whirled around when he heard his name, only to smirk at Pete and Rodney when he noticed it was them. "'Sup, boys?" He asked.

"Dude, please do me a favor and wipe that damn cocky smirk off of your face," Shane and Rodney widened their eyes at the harshness of Pete's voice. "Alright, that came out bad. I'm sorry."

"It's... Okay." Shane stated, confused eyebrow raised.

"Good. Because I wanted to ask you something."

"Shoot."

"Have you seen or heard from Joey?"

Shane nodded his head once.

Rodney and Pete looked at one another, then back at Shane.

"Dude... Are you gonna spill?" Rodney asked.

Shane looked at Rodney and shrugged. "Depends on you."

"What do you mean by that? Joey is our friend, too." Pete argued.

Shane looked over at Rodney. "He asked me not to say anything..."

"And since when have you listened to anyone?" Pete asked.

"Dude. Calm down." Rodney mumbled.

"Don't tell me to calm down, Rodney. I have every right to be a little pissed off right now. The four of us are friends. Two of us have been going crazy looking for one of us, who seemingly doesn't want to be found, and only chose to tell the remaining person where he is. What the hell gives, Shane? You're always saying how we're so close and great friends, yet you don't want to tell us where Joey ran off to."

Shane smirked again. "Right. Because he's my friend and he asked me not to tell you, so I'm not going to. I'd do the same thing if either one of you were in Joey's shoes right now... I'm loyal to my friends. You know that. Anyway... Don't you boys have a match to go win?"

Pete glared at Shane. He could feel his face turning red. Rodney placed a hand on Pete's shoulder.

"He's right, dude. We have to go."

"This isn't over." Pete growled.

Shane smiled. "I didn't think it was."

Pete allowed Rodney to drag him down the hall to their locker room. They got ready for their match in almost no time at all, then ran down to the gorilla position.

"I was starting to get worried." Vince announced, scaring the holy hell out of the two members of the Posse.

"Oh my God. Why are you creeping in the shadows?!" Rodney shouted, all but jumping into Pete's arms.

Vince rolled his eyes. "Because I'm the boss, damnit. Now get out there and retain those titles, because I sure as hell don't want WCW trash winning them from you."

The Posse made their way out to the ring, never once taking their eyes off of the "WCW trash" waiting for them, Booker T and Buff Bagwell. They glanced at each other while they were still on the ramp, silently wondering what would happen if WCW got their hands on WWF titles.

Their silent thoughts were answered at the end of the match, when none other than Joey Abs ran down to the ring and screwed them over himself.

When Pete and Rodney got backstage, Vince McMahon was absolutely fuming. Arn Anderson told them to run the second they stepped through the curtain, as Vince had stormed off to scream in every section of the arena.

"This way." Pete mumbled, leading Rodney towards the location where they last saw Shane.

They weren't really surprised to see the young McMahon had relocated to the parking lot. Pete wasted no time in storming up to him, grabbing him by the shirt and tossing him into the closest thing - which just so happened to be the concrete wall.

"What the hell was that about, McMahon!?"

"Whoa, whoa! Take it easy, Pete!"

"Don't tell me to take it easy, Shane! You feel like telling me why Joey decided to pop up out of nowhere to screw us over?! Huh?! That's why you wouldn't tell us where he went, isn't it?"

"I told you already. He asked me not to tell you." Shane calmly replied.

"I don't give a rats ass, Shane!"

"What part of 'I asked him not to tell you' don't you understand, Pete?"

Pete and Rodney turned around and saw a highly irritated looking Joey standing behind them.

"The part where you're allowed to disappear for days without telling us if you're even alive." Pete replied, fixing Joey with a glare of his own, still holding Shane against the wall.

"I can do whatever I want, Pete. You seem to forget that at times... Now, I'm going to tell you this once," Joey stepped a little closer to the Posse to glare at Pete. "Put Shane down. Now." Joey stated

Pete looked back over at Shane, whose face was absolutely emotionless, and let go of him.

"Thank you." Shane stated, calmly fixing his shirt and watching as Pete took a step back.

"Yeah."

"You should be more careful of who you decide to push around." Joey stated, calmly walking around the Posse to stand next to Shane.

"Is there... Some hidden meaning to you standing next to Shane..?" Rodney asked.

Pete looked at Rodney, seemingly confused, until everything suddenly fell into place in his mind. He turned to face Joey and Shane.

"You jumped ships!"

Joey and Shane glanced at one another, then looked back at the other members of the Posse.

"I did offer you three a contract with WCW." Shane stated.

"That's not the point, Shane." Pete replied.

"That's... Exactly the point, Pete. I offered the three of you contracts with WCW multiple times. Joey decided to take me up on my offer. There's nothing wrong with that... Is there?"

Pete looked at Joey. "How could you do that?"

Joey smirked. "If I had to pick between our best friend or his dad... I'd choose my best friend."

"But you screwed us out of the tag titles. You helped win those!" Rodney shouted.

"Right, and I'll hold them again. Bagwell isn't staying around for much longer, and I intend to take up his half of the tag titles."

"This is unbelievable." Rodney stated.

"What's unbelievable is the fact you two are freaking out on Joey after he made his own decision. I asked the three of you to join me in WCW. Don't blame Joey for you two having no interest in bettering yourselves and getting away from my dad."

Pete went to grab a hold of Shane again, but Joey stepped in front of him.

"Touch him again and you'll sure as hell regret it."

Pete took a step back and held up his hands in defeat. "I'm just feeling a tad sick to my stomach over this."

Shane shrugged. "I offered. Don't forget that."

"His slut of a girlfriend is convincing him you don't deserve his friendship."

Petes face turned beat red. He instantly jumped at Joey, and the two started fist fighting.

"God damnit," Shane shouted, trying to separate the two. "A little help here, Rod?!"

"Eh, dude... He kinda deserves it..." Rodney replied, looking on as Joey and Pete tried to kill one another.

Shane looked at him in shock. "Hello. Earth to Rodney. They're going to kill each other if we don't split them up."

Rodney sighed. "Damn."

Rodney nearly collapsed to the ground laughing when Shane caught a fist to the face while trying to pull Joey off of Pete.

"What the hell is so funny?" Shane asked.

"Dude, you're grabbing the wrong person... Pull on Pete, because Joey won't hit you."

"I don't think it matters who we pull on. Rogue fists are gonna fly."

Somehow, the two smaller men were able to separate Joey and Pete.

"Are we completely calm now?" Rodney asked.

"Don't call my girlfriend a slut." Pete growled.

Joey wiped blood from his split lip. "Sorry."

Pete glanced at Shane and Rodney, then settled his eyes back on Shane. "Dude... What the hell happened to your nose?"

"Your gigantor fist hit it."

Pete snorted to keep from laughing out loud. "Sorry..."

"Yeah. Now hug and make up."

Rodney smiled. "We're all friends," He shouted, grabbing hold of Pete and Joey and pulling them into an unwanted group hug. "Wait, we're missing someone. Shane Brandon, get your ass over here."

"Mother of God." Shane groaned as he was pulled into the group hug, as well.

"Well, I'll be damned."

The group hug was disbanded when the voice of Vince McMahon echoed in the parking lot.

"Shit."


	6. Chapter 6

In Too Deep  
Chapter 6

"Well, I'll be damned."

The group hug was disbanded when the voice of Vince McMahon echoed in the parking lot.

"Shit."

Shane was the first to fight his way through the Posse to stand closer to his father. Or, rather, to look him in the eyes. "It's not what it looks like."

Vince quirked an eyebrow at Shane, his face immediately turning a fine shade of pink. "Oh, yeah? Because, from what I just saw in the ring and what was just going on between the four of you, it certainly looks like what it looks like."

Shane blinked and narrowed his eyes, confused. "What?"

"You know what I mean!" Vince shouted.

"I think he means... We're all traitors." Pete stated.

"Exactly right, Gasparino."

Shane looked back and forth between Vince and Pete, then scoffed and looked back at his father. "Are you getting a little senile in your old age, dad? Last time I checked, it would be rude to have someone rob their former team mates of a title if they were all going to turn their backs on their boss, anyway."

Vince once again raised an eyebrow. "Are you saying..?"

"Right. Only Joey."

The Posse sighed in relief when Vince calmed down, only to freak out again when Vince grabbed a hold of Shane and rammed him into the same wall Pete did not even fifteen minutes ago.

"What the hell is wrong with you, Shane!? Can't you leave well enough alone and just give WCW back to its rightful owner?!"

Not only did the force of the initial collision with the wall make Shane's head snap back, Vince continued shaking him, which only succeeded in making the younger McMahon constantly hit his head against the wall.

"Vince! Let him go!" Joey shouted.

The Posse who were still team WWF sighed. They knew Vince wouldn't listen to Joey.

"Mr. McMahon, please!" Rodney begged, being brave enough to even put his hand on Vince's shoulder.

Still shaking him. Pete couldn't take it anymore.

"Boss! Stop!"

Vince stopped what he was doing and looked into Shane's wide eyes.

"What the hell did I just do..?" Vince whispered, backing away from Shane, who slid down to the floor.

The Posse looked at Vince, then down at Shane. Joey was the first one to make a move to the younger McMahon. Pete and Rodney turned to look at Vince.

"Are you alright, Mr. McMahon?" Rodney asked.

Vince finally took his eyes off of Shane and turned to look at Rodney. "I..."

Pete and Rodney watched as the older man opened and closed his mouth, trying to form words but ultimately failing. As if the situation couldn't _possibly_ get any worse, Sarah found her way over to the group. They studied her carefully, watching as she looked around in silence.

She finally settled her eyes on Pete. "What the hell happened?"

Before Pete could open his mouth, Joey stood up and stomped his foot angrily, catching everyone's attention. "I'll tell you what happened... The four of us were out here talking and Mr. McMahon came through like a damn tornado. He freaked out because he thought the Posse signed with WCW, and when Shane told him it was only me, he grabbed the kid, flung him against the wall and started smashing his head into it."

Sarah's eyes widened and her mouth gaped open, turning to look at Vince in shock. "Is that..?"

"I don't know." Vince replied, eyes settled on the floor, clearly ashamed of what happened.

Rodney looked over at Shane. "Dude, are you alive?"

Shane nodded his head, but said nothing. Rodney noticed his eyes were fixed on Vince and were wide with either shock, fear, pain or all three.

An awkward silence fell in the parking garage. It finally broke when Shane sneezed.

"Bless you." Sarah stated.

"Thanks," Shane turned to look at Joey, surprising the Posse by actually moving, and held out a hand. "Would you mind helping me up, please?"

Joey pushed passed Rodney and Pete, making the two slightly jealous that he got to help their childhood best friend while they had to stand back and watch, and made his way to Shane. He extended his hand, grabbed Shane's and hauled him to his feet, grabbing his other arm to steady him. It was only when Sarah gasped that Joey pulled Shane slightly forward so he could look down.

There was blood on the wall where Shane's head was resting.

"Shit."

Shane, who was swaying even with Joey holding his arms, wriggled an arm free and pressed a hand to the back of his head. He grimaced when it made contact with the cut, then pulled his hand away and looked at it.

"Huh."

"Maybe you should sit down again." Joey suggested.

"Maybe we should get him back inside." Rodney stated.

"Maybe somebody needs to apologize."

All eyes settled on Vince, who finally decided to look up. He tentatively took a step towards his son and, when he noticed nobody was trying to stop him, kept going until he was standing in front of him.

"What?" Shane asked.

"I'm sorry."

Shane tilted his head to the side. "For what?"

"For," Vince gestured to Shane and the wall. "I didn't mean... I lost my temper..."

Shane shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Pete and Rodney exchanged a look, then looked over at Sarah to see if she had any input. She shrugged her shoulders, but continued staring at the two McMahons.

"Let go of him," Vince stated, eyeing Joey. "Please."

Joey looked Shane in the eyes and waited for him to nod his consent, then released him. Joey walked back to where the Posse was with Sarah.

"Am I the only one on edge here?" Joey asked the Posse.

"No. But... He's our boss and it would do us good not to argue with him." Rodney replied.

"Well, in that case, he just slammed my boss into concussion land, and I want to protect my boss more than you want to prevent pissing yours off."

"Don't be an ignorant fool, Joey. It was an accident."

"What the hell do you know, Leinhardt!?"

"Don't yell at him!" Pete shouted.

"Stay out of it! Let the gutless wonder stand up for himself!"

"Please don't argue, guys." Sarah begged.

"Stay out of this, Sarah. Please." Joey stated.

"Don't you dare speak to her, you traitor!"

"Don't tell me what to do!"

"Can't we just be friends..?" Rodney asked.

"NO!" Pete and Joey shouted in unison.

"Look! We're totally still friends! You spoke at the same time!"

"It's only because you're annoying! Shut your cake hole, Leinhardt! Let the men handle this!" Joey shouted.

"Why do you always have to pick on him?!"

"Because you're too much of a wimp to say anything bad about anyone!"

"Shut the fuck up!"

Joey, Pete, Rodney and Sarah jumped in shock and turned to look at Shane, whose face was red from yelling. Vince had taken a few steps away from his son, but still stood at arms length in case he tipped to the side.

"...Wow." Rodney was the first one to break the silence.

"God, you guys are so irritating sometimes. All you do is argue and scream at one another. Joey, you have to stop picking on Rodney all the time. It makes you a lesser man; to pick on someone smaller than you. Pete... Dude... Please, you have to stop defending Rodney all the time. It's honorable, but Rodney has enough courage to stick up for himself. And Sarah... Honey, you know we all love you, but you have to stay out of their arguments. I don't want anyone screaming at you and saying something they're going to regret."

The Posse stared at Shane. Sure, Vince might have scrambled his brains a bit, but he was still the sensible one that wanted to stop them from arguing.

"...We're always arguing." Rodney stated.

"It's because of this mess. WCW." Joey admitted, rubbing his forehead with his right hand.

"It's frustrating." Pete commented.

"I made my choice. Shane asked all three of us. What difference does it make if I said yes?" Joey asked.

"You split us up. When we got signed, we agreed it would always be the three of us. The Posse. Always and forever. You're... Not here anymore." Rodney replied.

Joey sighed. "I'm sorry, but that doesn't change the fact that we're all friends. We can still hang out," Joey glanced over at Pete, then looked at Sarah. "Right?"

Sarah stared at him, then smiled and nodded her head. "Of course we can. If it's okay with Pete..?"

Pete ran a hand through his hair and started rubbing his neck. He _wanted_ to say no. No because Joey would try to influence them to jump ships. No because Joey always started in with Sarah. No because Joey picked on Rodney. No because Joey had absolutely no problem roughing anyone up. No because Joey just wasn't trustworthy.

But the determined look on Joey's face to make things right, plus the begging look in Rodney's eyes and the fact Sarah was okay with it, made Pete sigh and drop his hand back to his side. "Of course it's okay with me."

Shane smirked. "Good. Now, for God's sake, please stop yelling."

"We'll try."

Shane looked back at Vince. "Dopey friends I have."

"Hey! I resemble that remark!" Rodney shouted.

Shane rolled his eyes, whereas Vince chose to ignore it. "You're the leader of the lot. Don't forget that."

"Yeah."

"Are you okay?" Vince asked.

The fact Shane hesitated to answer made Vince uneasy. He had damn near cracked his sons skull open.

"It's just a cut." Shane replied, but Vince could hear the uncertainty in his voice.

"Maybe you should get it looked at, just in case."

Shane shook his head and instantly regretted it once he started teetering to the side. Vince grabbed him and pulled him back up.

"I'm fine."

"You said that after Backlash."

"Well, then, maybe you should trust me."

Vince sighed. "Shane, I'm only trying to help you. I'm ashamed of what I did. And I'm sorry. Can't you see that?"

Shane nodded. "I can. And I said I'm fine. Please stop challenging everything I say and do. It's annoying. And it only shows me that you don't trust me."

"And what if I don't?" Vince asked.

Shane smirked and took a step away from Vince. "It's cool. You're only the person who, in the last two weeks, has not only tried to get me killed by a giant, but also tried to kill me yourself. So, tell me, who, out of the two of us, is truly untrustworthy?"

"Shane..."

"No. You don't get to 'Shane' me, old man. You had your chance. I gave you more than one. I told you, after my match at Backlash, that you really pissed me off and you would regret it. Well... Mark my words now, and mark 'em good. I'm extremely pissed off, I have a pounding headache, I don't even remember why the hell I'm out here and... Oh, yeah. I have something you want. Don't you think you should be nice to me?"

The Posse and Sarah went silent long ago, looking back and forth between the two McMahons in stunned silence.

Vince sighed. "I asked you for WCW."

Shane quirked an eyebrow. "When?"

"Before."

"I don't remember that."

"I was... Um..," Vince gestured wildly for a moment, then sighed and dropped his hand. "You know..."

Shane blinked. "Oh. Trying to crack my head open like an egg?"

"Yes."

"Ah. Well..."

"How much longer do you want this war to last?"

Shane scoffed. "War? What war? We're not even in war. Well... Not yet, anyway," Shane stepped closer to Vince and got in his face. "I'm not gonna pull any punches. Do what you have to do. Just know that I'm not afraid of you."

"You arrogant little bastard." Vince growled.

Shane stepped away from Vince with a sadistic smirk on his face. "I learned it from the best," Shane gestured to Vince, then turned to face Joey. "Come on, man. See ya, guys."

"Bye guys."

"See ya, Joey."

Vince, Pete, Rodney and Sarah watched the two leave.

"This has turned into a pretty eventful evening..." Rodney mumbled.

Vince turned to look at Pete and Rodney. "I don't give a shit if he's your friend, your asses had better win those damn titles back or I'm going to fire you faster than lightning. Do you understand me?!" Vince roared.

"Yes." Rodney replied without hesitating.

Vince stomped away, screaming and cursing up a storm.

"Wow. Shane really knows how to get to him." Rodney observed.

Pete and Sarah turned to look at Rodney, wondering if he was serious or not.

"Um... Yeah... Well, come on. Let's get out of here before the old man flips his lid on us."

* * *

**A/N: Meep. Shane abuse! I should apologize for it, but it's something I'm so used to writing... And I apologize for Vince being a bit 'out of character' by slamming Shane into a wall, but I think that, if he would get angry enough, he'd actually do it. I mean, come on... Have we ****_not_**** seen the two argue and butt heads on television? **

**Anywho... Next up is the road to King of the Ring.**


	7. Chapter 7

In Too Deep  
Chapter 7

Rodney and Pete watched, mildly amused, as Shane mocked Kurt Angle out in the ring. They couldn't exactly say why they found it funny, since Shane just so happened to be mocking an Olympic gold medalist, but Shane always had a way of making something funnier than it should be.

"That's not very nice of him." Sarah stated, just as Shane called Kurt a wussy.

Pete and Rodney laughed.

"Have you ever met Shane before?" Rodney asked, raising a semi-confused, but mostly playful eyebrow.

Sarah rolled her eyes, but turned to look at Rodney. "Nope. Never met him before."

"You should. He's kinda cool and really funny."

Sarah raised an eyebrow. "Oh really?"

Rodney nodded. "Yep."

Sarah one again rolled her eyes at Rodney. "If you say so."

"I do."

The three winced in pain as they watched Kurt Angle-Slam Shane from the Olympic medal platform and turn him over so he could lock in the ankle-lock.

"Sure hope Shane has his boots on tonight." Pete stated.

"Looks like he does."

"Good... Not sure if it would help at all, but it would be really bad if he's walking around with a bum ankle..."

Vince walked into the locker-room, completely cutting Pete's thought short, and looked at the three people staring at him, then glanced at the television. He raised an eyebrow at the instant replay of what had happened between Shane and Kurt, then sighed and returned his attention to Pete and Rodney.

"Why are the two of you sitting there like you have nothing to do?" He asked.

Pete and Rodney looked at one another and shrugged their shoulders.

"Because we don't..?" Rodney asked, giving Vince an odd look.

Vince's cheeks tinted pink, and Rodney swore he saw steam come out of his ears. "Are you dense, Leinhardt!? Why the _hell_ do you think I came here in the first place?! You _obviously_ have some place to be right now, like getting ready to go out in the ring and get those goddamn tag titles back from those WCW misfits!"

The Posse remained silent for a few moments, looking at Vince to make sure he was okay. When he seemed to have calmed down a bit, Pete sighed. "Are you alright, Mr. McMahon?"

Vince looked at Pete, then sighed and returned his sight to the floor. "No, Pete. Not really."

"What's the matter?"

Vince's head whipped around to face Rodney so fast, Pete swore it was going to break off and roll around the floor. "Are you unaware of what's going on, Leinhardt!? My own son is trying to put me out of business!"

Pete rubbed the back of his head uncomfortably. "I don't think he's trying to put you out of business, Mr. McMahon... I just think he's trying to get your attention."

Vince looked back at Pete and raised a confused eyebrow. "Why would he need my attention?"

Pete stared blankly at his boss. "Is that a serious question, sir? Shane is your son... You _should_ be paying attention to him."

"I do."

Rodney scoffed, but when Vince looked back at him, he started coughing. "Damn peanuts."

Vince narrowed his eyes. "Uh huh."

"Seriously, Mr. McMahon," Pete paused to watch as Vince once again turned his attention back to him. "I think all of this could have been prevented if you didn't... You know... Mess around with Trish and humiliate Linda and... Say what you said to Shane that one night you had Hunter kick his ass..."

"I was proving a point." Vince stated.

"Yeah, a bad one. You basically told him you didn't love him."

Vince rolled his eyes and waved Pete off. "He knows I do."

"My ass!"

"Please stop fighting..." Sarah warned.

Pete looked over at his girlfriend, then looked back at Vince and sighed. "You know what, Mr. McMahon..? I've known you and your family for awhile now, and... Although I know you like to put on a show, even I was offended by what you said to Shane. So, in a way, I think you kind of deserve what he's doing right now."

"What was that, Gasparino?" Vince asked, giving Pete a _dangerous_ look.

"That came out wrong... Listen... You think he's trying to get your attention in the wrong way, that much I understand. But, what you're not paying attention to is that if you just told the damn guy you loved him once in awhile, maybe he'd let up with the whole WCW thing. I'm pretty sure you haven't told him you loved him since his birthday."

"Around then, I guess." Vince stated.

"See? And how often do you tell Steph that you love her?"

Vince's eyes widened. "That has nothing to do-!"

"It has everything to do with it. Answer the question."

Vince sighed. "About an hour ago."

"That's exactly it. You _always_ chose Stephanie over him. Always. And even now, you don't want to go near him because you blow your top every time you do all thanks to the fact that he outsmarted you. And, when you blow your top at him, Shane loses his cool. You have to suck it up, Vince. He's not gonna wait around for you forever."

Vince narrowed his eyes. "If he's smart, he will."

"He's your son." Pete seethed.

The tension was so thick between Vince and Pete that Sarah was afraid to move. She didn't even want to breathe, let alone mention the match in the ring was finishing up and the Posse would have to leave the locker-room in a few short moments. She looked back and forth between the two men and sighed. Sure, it wasn't Pete's place to tell Vince that he had some serious issues he needed to sort out - particularly with Shane - but he was right, and Sarah had to be proud of him for standing up for his best friend.

After all, the Posse just wasn't the same when it was in pieces.

"AH!"

Vince, Pete and Sarah jumped and whirled around to face Rodney, who had just let out one of the most absurd noises they'd ever heard.

"Jesus Christ! What?" Pete shouted.

"I lost my lucky spoon!" Rodney whined, running around like a lunatic.

Pete face-palmed, then turned to look at Vince for help.

"You deal with this and then hurry your asses to the gorilla position. I want you there in no more than two minutes." He growled, then left the room.

Pete sighed and looked back at Rodney. "Where'd you have it last?"

"If I remembered that, I wouldn't say I lost it, now, would I?!" Rodney shouted.

A few short moments later, Pete grabbed a hold of Rodney's arm and started dragging him out of the room, even though the smaller man was screaming about his lost spoon. Sarah followed closely behind, covering her mouth to prevent Rodney from seeing her laugh.

The screaming stopped rather abruptly, making Pete look down to make sure Rodney was still breathing.

"Aha!" Rodney declared.

There it was, clenched in Rodney's left hand. The stupid "lucky" spoon that Rodney just_ had_ to keep with him at all times.

"Where was it?" Pete asked.

"In my pocket." Rodney replied, putting it back where he found it.

"Why the hell do you carry that damn thing around, anyway?"

Just as Rodney was about to reply, Joey brushed passed the two, purposely bumping shoulders with Pete as he did so. Booker T, who the Posse had never met before, was nice enough to avoid the both of them, even mumbling out a few 'excuse me's' as he went by. Pete narrowed his eyes at Joey, who shrugged and kept walking.

"I really don't understand how the WCW competitors are able to just frolic around back here like they own the place..." Sarah stated, watching as Joey and Booker T kept walking.

"It's all an act, really."

Sarah, Pete and Rodney turned to see Shane leaning against a wall, looking at them with a small smile on his face. Pete noticed right away that he was keeping a majority of his weight off of his left ankle - the one Angle had used the ankle-lock on.

"How so?" Pete asked.

"Ah, you'll find out soon enough."

"If you say so, Shane-O." Pete stated.

Shane's smile got bigger as he nodded. "Yep. Alright, good luck in your match. I don't want my dad to fire you guys for being late."

The Posse and Sarah waved their goodbyes and continued walking towards the gorilla position. "That was... Awkward."

"Yep. Alright, Sarah. This is as far as you go... Feel free to stay with Shane if you want to, but don't be seen talking to anyone else WCW. Got it?" Pete asked.

"Yes. Good luck."

Rodney started gagging when Pete kissed Sarah right in front of him. "Hurl! Hurl!"

Pete slapped Rodney upside the head and dragged him down to the gorilla position. Sarah waved goodbye to them, then turned around and back-tracked to where Shane was. He noticed she was heading towards him and smiled at her.

"Miss me already?" He teased.

Sarah lightly punched him in the shoulder. "Never!"

"Awh, shucks. And here I thought I was your friend."

Sarah smiled at him, then sighed. "Can I ask you a question?"

"You just did."

"Smartass."

"Thank you," Shane smiled at her again, then gestured. "Seriously, go ahead."

"Why did you do it?"

"Do what?"

"Buy WCW."

Shane put his head back against the wall. "Still beating that horse, are we?" He asked.

"Come on! I think I deserve a reason, as I have to deal with the half of the Posse that isn't in WCW," She gave him a pleading look, and decided to add a little extra salt to the wound. "They're really upset, Shane... It's not the same without you and Joey."

Shane sighed. "There's really no reason for it, honey. I saw an opportunity and I jumped at it."

"Is that really it, Shane? Because... Well... I think it's something else."

"Listen, Miss Psychiatrist, not everyone has a deep psychological reasoning for doing something."

"I think differently, Shane. Especially when it comes to you and your dad."

Shane's eyes widened. "What the-!? Stop it! Sarah, please. Just leave it alone. If my dad doesn't care enough about me to try and talk things out like a civilized human being when I'm not in pain, then I sure as hell don't want to hear it from you."

"Ah," Sarah did a mental victory pose. "I'm sorry."

Shane huffed in annoyance. "It's okay."

Before they knew it, Vince was stomping towards them with a red face and steam hissing out of his ears.

"Sweet mother of God." Sarah mumbled.

"Shane. Brandon. Fucking. McMahon."

Shane shot a sarcastic look in Vince's direction. "Yes, Vincezilla?"

"Why can't you tell your WCW scum to stay **_out_** of the ring when they don't have a goddamn match!?"

Shane raised a confused eyebrow. "What? I have no idea what you're talking about."

"One of your reject wrestlers just cost the Posse the tag titles! And, might I remind you, Joey screwed them out of the titles last week!"

"I didn't book an inter-company match, dad. And it's not my fault they lost last week."

"Bullshit!" Vince roared, and Sarah was almost positive the hair on Shane's head blew back.

"Temper, temper... Dad, listen, contrary to what you think, I don't call _all_ the shots in WCW. I mean, granted, I _did_ say I was going to make you miserable, but I sure wouldn't do that at the expense of two of my best friends."

Sarah noticed Vince calmed down almost immediately. She wasn't sure if Pete's voice was ringing in his head or if he realized the genuine tone in Shane's voice. She looked behind Vince and - speak of the devil - Pete and Rodney were jogging over to where they were.

"What the hell, Shane?!" Pete shouted.

Shane held his hands up in defeat. "I just went over this with my dad. I wouldn't use you guys to make my dad miserable. I didn't know anyone was going to get involved in the match... Who was it, anyway?"

Pete narrowed his eyes angrily. "It was Bagwell. I thought he was leaving."

Shane raised an eyebrow. "Who said that?"

"Joey."

"Bagwell still has a week left on his contract. He just doesn't want anything to do with Booker, and Booker thought it would be nice to give Bagwell's half of the tag titles to Joey because he helped them win." Shane explained.

"Logical." Vince offered, even though his face was a fine shade of pink.

"Dad, I really think you need a shock collar or something... You're going to give yourself a heart attack if you keep getting yourself so worked up," Shane paused when he noticed Rodney pouting. "What's wrong, Rodney?"

Rodney sniffed. "Joey stole my lucky spoon."

Pete was surprised when he saw Shane's eyebrows shoot up in shock, then watched as he narrowed his eyes angrily.

"That bastard. I'll handle this." Shane stated, then pushed himself off the wall and gimped down the hall.

"Do you believe him?" Pete asked, turning to look at Vince as he did so.

Vince shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. He seems honest, and he was genuinely confused when I stormed over here to yell at him."

"I really don't think he'd take advantage of you two like that." Sarah stated.

Pete sighed, then put an arm around Rodney's shoulders to try and cheer him up. "We'll see, I guess."

"I can tell you one thing, though," Pete looked back at Vince when he spoke. "I want the two of you to face those WCW heathens at King of the Ring."

"You got it, Vince. As long as it's for the tag titles, though."

"You must like reading my mind, Pete."

"Can it be a cage match?" Rodney asked, still keeping his eyes cast down.

Vince looked at Rodney, then locked eyes with Pete. "I don't see why not."

"Awesome." Rodney stated, lifting his head to smile evilly at Vince.


	8. Chapter 8

In Too Deep  
Chapter 8

"Happy Birthday, baby!"

Sarah smiled when Pete handed her a poorly wrapped box with about seven birthday balloons attached to it.

"Thank you!"

The bar was surprisingly quiet for a Thursday evening. Pete, Rodney and Sarah were sitting at a round table off to the far corner of the establishment. Sarah was informed, quiet last minute, that Pete was taking her to a bar for her twenty-first birthday, and he was inviting their 'closest friends.' She wondered if that included Joey or not, but decided to let it slide until the time came.

"Happy Birthday, Sarah." Rodney stated, sheepishly handing Sarah a rather nicely wrapped box and a card, which she accepted with a large smile on her face.

"Thank you, Rodney."

"You're welcome!" Rodney sing-songed, smiling and swaying his head to the music playing.

Sarah wondered if Rodney realized it was the Backstreet Boys. She figured he didn't care either way, solely because Rodney was one of the most easy going people she had ever met in her life. Pete shot Rodney an odd look... He probably realized it _was_ the Backstreet Boys playing, but he chose not to say anything.

"Hiya, birthday girl!"

Sarah turned to the side and saw Shane and his high school sweetheart Marissa Mazzola. He leaned down to kiss her on the cheek and handed her a gift bag that just so happened to have balloons tied to it. When Shane moved out of the way to greet Pete and Rodney, Marissa leaned over to mimic her boyfriend.

"Thank you, guys."

When everyone got settled down, Marissa turned to look at Rodney. "Where's Kim?"

Rodney waved her off. "Kim simply refused to be seen in a bar..."

Shane raised an eyebrow. "Is that Rodney-ish for you broke up?"

Rodney lowered his head. "No..."

"Rodney!" Marissa sternly stated.

"What?! She said she couldn't handle the fact I'm away all the time!"

Marissa shook her head, slightly irritated. "Try having your boyfriend constantly going out of the country for days at a time. Vice President of Global Media is _not_ a good job."

Shane scratched the back of his head. "Hence the change... Speaking of change, let's change the subject! Today is about Sarah turning the wonderful age of twenty-one. What's your first drink gonna be?"

"Probably a Shirley Temple." Sarah stated.

Shane scoffed. "Dude. Stop with those wimpy drinks. Try something else... Maybe you'd like an Electric Lemonade."

Sarah raised a confused eyebrow. "What the hell is that?"

"Alcoholic lemonade." Shane dead-panned.

Sarah glared at him. "No shit, Sherlock."

"Listen, Shane-O, just cause you're into pounding back hard liquor, it doesn't mean Sarah's gonna like it on her first day as being legal." Pete stated, looking Shane in the eyes as he did so.

"Come on, Pete. I'm just trying to see if I can get her to try _something_ that doesn't involve a Shirley Temple. Wait. How about trying a Not Your Momma's Shirley Temple? Yeah, that's simple enough."

Sarah looked slightly intrigued. "What's that?"

"A Shirley Temple with vodka in it. Since it'll be your first drink, just tell the bartender to keep it light." Shane explained.

"Maybe." Sarah replied.

"Sarah... Please?" Shane whined, making Marissa slap his arm.

"Stop pressuring her, you little jackass!"

Shane turned to look at his girlfriend. "I am many things, my dear. But I'm not little."

Rodney giggled. "I thought you were going to say you weren't a jackass."

"No. I know I'm a jackass," Shane paused for a moment to wink, then sighed when he saw the waitress heading their way. "Hurry and decide on drinks."

The waitress, who took an immediate liking to Rodney, smiled when she saw the birthday balloons conveniently placed behind Sarah. She gave Shane an odd look for ordering a Kamikaze, but said nothing to him as she wrote it down and walked away.

"I think she digs you." Pete stated, nudging Rodney's arm.

"Ah. Stop."

"No, dude. She was totally checking you out."

"I don't think anyone would be caught dead _checking out_ that little putz."

Shane closed his eyes and groaned, completely surprising Pete and Rodney, then turned around with a smile on his face. "Hiya, Joey!"

"Hey dipshit," Joey stated, hitting Shane in the head. He turned his attention to Sarah. "Happy Birthday." He stated, then gave her a gift bag.

"Thanks, Joey."

Joey sat down in one of the remaining chairs, which just so happened to put him across from Pete. "Hey, guys."

"Hi." Rodney stated, sending him a glare.

Joey rolled his eyes in annoyance. "It's just a stupid spoon!"

"It's my good luck spoon, so shove it out your ass!" Rodney shouted.

"Elllllllo. This isn't about you two. It's about Sarah." Marissa stated.

"Shut up, bitch." Joey stated.

Shane slammed his fist on the table, catching Joey's attention. "You mind your damn tongue when you talk to her, do you understand me?"

"Yeah. Sorry."

"Where's Ashley?" Sarah asked.

"Parking the car. She should be here in a minute."

The waitress returned with the drinks, making sure to get to Rodney last. The group watched as she leaned down and whispered something in his ear, smiled at him, quickly took Joey's order and walked away.

"What'd she say?" Marissa asked.

"She's getting off of work in ten minutes and wanted to know if she could join us."

"Go for it!" Shane shouted, making Rodney blush.

"Happy Birthday, Sarah!"

Sarah was completely taken by surprise when Joey's girlfriend, Ashley Collins, ran up behind her and hugged her. She gave her an envelope, then greeted everyone else and sat down next to Joey.

"Thank you, Ashley." Sarah stated with a smile.

"You're welcome, love. How's everyone doing?"

"We're good, thanks. How's school?"

Ashley flailed her arms. "Agh! Let's not talk about school! I'm ready to get out already!"

Marissa raised an eyebrow. "Shouldn't you have graduated already?"

"I have two weeks to go. The schedule got all weird. Finals are murder." Ashley replied.

"I don't miss college." Shane stated.

"Not even for all the drinking?" Ashley asked, and everyone at the table wondered if she was slightly teasing the young McMahon.

"Alright, maybe for all the drinking." Shane winked, and everyone know it was a joke.

"So, where's Kim?" Ashley asked, looking over at Rodney.

Rodney groaned and hit his head on the table to avoid answering.

"They broke up, but the waitress wants to join us in a few." Pete explained for him.

"Awh, how cute!" Ashley shouted, just as the waitress returned with the drinks for her and Joey.

"I'm off now... May I join you?" She asked, looking over at Rodney.

"Of course," Rodney gestured to the empty chair next to him, which she gladly took. "My name is Rodney. These are my friends Ashley, Joey, Shane, Marissa, Sarah and Pete."

"Hi everyone. It's nice to meet you. I'm Danielle. What are you doing here today?"

"Today is Sarah's birthday." Pete stated.

"Oh! Happy Birthday, Sarah."

"Thank you, Danielle."

The group started chatting amongst themselves. Pete noticed Joey kept shooting him awkward looks, and Shane kept glaring at Joey until he noticed and stopped looking at Pete. A quick look at Rodney told him he was really starting to like Danielle, and it was no question why. She was pretty attractive, but he was more than happy with Sarah, just as Shane was with Marissa. Pete wondered why Ashley still put up with Joey, as he wasn't very nice to her all the time and she could do so much better, but he figured it was because they had been together since the eleventh grade.

"Anyone want another drink?" Shane asked.

A few scattered drink names came from the people at the table and Shane nodded, then walked over to the bar. He returned almost no time with the drinks. Pete raised a confused eyebrow when he noticed an Irish Car Bomb and a Kamikaze sitting in front of Shane.

"Gonna drink both of those on your own?" Pete asked, pointing at the drinks.

Shane smiled evilly at him. "So what if I am?"

Pete groaned. "You're mixing! Please don't tell me you're driving."

"I'm not driving. I may be a jackass, but I'm not stupid."

"Oosa, Shane." Marissa stated.

"I am oosa'd!"

"Lord." Joey continued speaking in unintelligible mumbles, however, the agitated tone in his voice caught everyone's attention.

"Baby." Ashley warned.

"What's the problem now, Joey?" Shane asked, leaning closer to the table to look at the other man.

"Nothing, boss."

"Then stop being such a prick."

Everyone turned to look at Shane in shock.

"I reiterate... Oosa, Shane." Marissa stated.

"I'll only oosa if Joey stops his bullshit. We're here to celebrate Sarah's birthday, not turn this into another 'All About Joey' session."

"Dude. Calm down." Pete warned.

Shane locked eyes with Pete, then looked down at the table and remained quiet. Joey, on the other hand, started fuming.

"And why should I listen to you?"

"Because I'm your boss and I told you a million times to stay civil? Today isn't about you, for the hundredth time."

"Guys. Please?"

"I'm sorry, Sarah." Shane stated, turning away from Joey.

"You know what, Shane," Joey stood up abruptly and knocked the chair over, making everyone look over at him. "I'm not going to be civil just because some McMahon brat told me to. You may be my boss, but you're my friend first, and as my friend, you should learn that I don't take kindly to being told what to do. I've had enough of your arrogance and the fact you constantly choose those three schmucks over me. Pete is a goddamn loser for dating that bitch for so long, and Rodney is so pathetic, he can't even keep a girlfriend for more than a week at a time."

Shane looked up at Joey from where he was sitting. "You'd better watch your tone."

"No!" Joey shouted.

"Joey. Please."

Had Ashley not stood up to grab a hold of Joey's arm, everyone was damn sure he would have grabbed Shane and tossed him across the table.

"Please leave."

Joey turned to face Pete. "And who exactly made you the boss of me?! Didn't I just say that I don't take kindly to being told what to do?! That's one of your many problems, Pete. You can't just shut the hell up and pay attention to people. You have to be involved in fifty things at once and have your nose in everyone else's business."

"I'm trying to be nice, here, Joey. I really am. But, so far, you've insulted Rodney, you've insulted me and, most importantly, you've insulted Sarah. So, if I were you, I would get the hell out of here before I lose my cool."

Faster than lightning, Joey reached across the table and slapped Pete clear across the face. Pete jumped up, but was quickly grabbed by Rodney, whereas Shane grabbed a hold of Joey and pushed him away.

"Walk away, Joey." Shane demanded.

"Fuck all of you. Especially you, Pete." Joey seethed, then spun around and left.

Pete glared at Joey's retreating back. Rodney and Shane sat back down, whereas Ashley remained standing.

"I am so sorry, Sarah... I'll call you later." She stated, put a twenty dollar bill on the table and left.

"Friggin bastard." Pete grumbled, rubbing his hands together to cool off.

"I'm sorry you had to see that." Rodney stated, turning his attention to Danielle, who was staring wide-eyed at everyone.

"Who exactly is that guy and why does he seem to have a problem with everyone?"

"He's an asshole," Shane stated, matter-of-factly, making Danielle look over at him. "And this is Joey's world. Everyone just so happens to live in it."

"He called you his boss, though. Aren't you a little too young to own a company?" Danielle asked.

Shane chuckled. "Ah, you'd be surprised... Change of subject! Sarah! Why don't you open your presents?"

Sarah smiled at Shane, blinking away the nervous tears that were threatening to spill from her eyes. It wasn't the first time Joey tried to ruin her birthday, but it made her a lot angrier this time around. Probably because of the alcohol, she figured. One by one, she opened her presents. Joey bought her a book about psychology, Ashley gave her a check for fifty dollars, Rodney got her a new camera and a gift card to Best Buy and Shane and Marissa bought her a brand new laptop.

Sarah groaned when she saw the gift. "Shane! This is ridiculous!"

"Ah, shush. Happy Birthday. Enjoy it."

"Thank you, guys."

She turned her attention to the last present, which was from Pete. She opened it and saw a sterling silver necklace with a heart shaped charm. Her eyes widened when she noticed the heart was full of diamonds.

"Pete..." She whispered.

"Happy Birthday, baby."


	9. Chapter 9

In Too Deep  
Chapter 9

Pete found himself sitting alone in the Posse's locker-room before Raw went on the air. He had to admit that he wasn't excited about the fact that Joey was going to be backstage... After all, he was still fuming about what happened on Sarah's birthday. He knew for sure that nobody was excited about seeing Joey... Even Shane. And that was sad, seeing as to how Shane was Joey's boss and probably had to deal with him on a regular basis.

He looked up when Rodney entered the room, then narrowed his eyes when he noticed the other man looked upset. "What's wrong, Rod?"

"My lucky spoon has been missing for a week!"

He sounded extremely distressed, but that didn't stop Pete from wanting to laugh. "Don't worry, man. You'll get it back."

"I probably won't, Pete. Joey turned into a real asshole..."

"Dude, what the hell is he going to do with a spoon?"

"I don't know! But he's planning on keeping it away from me!"

"Probably because he's jealous of your fantastic winning streak..."

"I've lost my last two matches!"

"Yeah, because _he_ gipped us out of the first one and he stole your lucky spoon during the second one!"

Rodney went silent. Pete took it as the other man was actually pondering his words, so he decided to think about it, as well. He couldn't figure out why Joey seemed to have turned into an asshole overnight, let alone why the other man would steal Rodney's lucky spoon.

"He probably just did it to get on my nerves..." Rodney pouted.

"Yeah, well, he's winning."

"I'm sorry, Pete. That spoon is really special to me."

"Yeah, you never mentioned why..."

Before Rodney could answer, Vince walked into the locker-room without knocking. He looked back and forth between the Posse, then sighed and looked at Pete. "Where's Sarah tonight?"

"Hotel, maybe? Might be on her way here, too. Not exactly sure... She wasn't feeling good when I saw her. Why?"

Vince shrugged. "Wanted to wish her a happy belated birthday, I guess. How'd the party go?"

"We went to a bar with some pals... Didn't go as great as anticipated... But once the problem was gone, it was a lot of fun. She was really happy."

"It's okay, Pete. Marissa already told me what happened. What's Shane going to do about Joey?"

Pete shrugged. "He didn't say, so I didn't ask. None of my business, especially when he was drinking."

Vince sighed again. "Yeah, well... I'm hoping WCW doesn't give us too much trouble tonight."

"I feel like every time you mention those evil initials, you condemn us." Rodney stated.

Vince eyed him, then looked back at Pete. "Is he still acting strange because of his lucky straw?"

"SPOON!" Rodney shouted.

"Sorry. Spoon?" Vince asked.

"Yeah. Shane said he was going to take care of it, but I don't know what he did or what he's planning on doing. Hasn't mentioned the spoon since last week." Pete replied.

"Ah... Well... Good luck in your match against the Dudley Boyz tonight. Don't forget to be at the gorilla position five minutes before your match."

"Will do, Mr. McMahon." Pete stated, smiled at his boss and watched him turn around to leave.

Vince stopped mere inches away from the door and turned to look at Rodney. "Spoon..." He grumbled, shook his head in disappointment, turned around and left.

"Why doesn't he like my spoon?!" Rodney shouted.

* * *

"I sure do wish you wouldn't be this cruel to dad."

Shane sighed and turned to look at his sister. "Dad brought this upon himself."

Stephanie crossed her arms over her chest. "I don't see how that makes any sense... Even to you."

Shane smirked. "Ah, you know me. Making sense of nothing."

Stephanie stared at her brother for a few moments, trying to figure out what to say. "So... What's next for... You know... WCW?"

"You know as well as I do that I can't tell you anything." Shane replied.

"Come on! You always tell me everything!"

"Pffft. Not everything."

"You know what I mean, Shane... Why can't you tell me one little bit of information?"

Shane raised a confused eyebrow at his sister. "Well... For one, you tried to screw me over at WrestleMania. Two, you chose dad over me. Three, you're in the World Wrestling Federation. Four, I don't disclose my plans to anyone. Five, and most importantly, it's none of your business."

Stephanie glared at Shane. "If that's the way it's gonna be... Fine. You suck." Stephanie growled and stormed off, narrowly avoiding Andrew "Test" Martin on her way down the hall.

"Someone is being overly dramatic." Andrew commented.

Shane leaned against the wall and shrugged his shoulders. "Always has been."

"Yeah, I know. I'm really grateful I didn't marry her."

"Me too."

Andrew was never one for awkward silences. It felt twice as awkward because of how close he was with Shane. Hell, the man gave up his childhood best friends in favor of the man who was engaged to his younger sister. Andrew wracked his brain to think of something to say, and was rather relieved when a thought came to him easily.

"What's next with WCW?"

Shane turned to look at him. "Dude, I can't tell you that."

Andrew frowned. "Why the hell not? I told you I want to jump."

"Yeah. Wanting to do something and doing something are two different things."

"I know, dude... I know..."

"So what are you waiting for? Make a decision."

Andrew sighed, then locked eyes with Shane. "After King of the Ring, alright?"

Shane nodded. "Sure. But that means I can't tell you anything until then... Got it?"

"Yeah. Alright, see you later."

"Later."

Shane watched Andrew walk down the hallway, then sighed when he realized who was walking towards him.

"Shane!"

"Hi, Joey."

"I have a bone to pick with you..."

"Yeah, well, join the damn club."

"Hey," Joey grabbed a hold of Shane's shirt and pushed him up against the wall. He saw Shane wasn't afraid of him and sighed, then let him go and fixed his shirt. "Come on, boss... Is that any way to treat one of your employees?"

"No, I suppose not... But you kind of deserve it."

"What the hell does that mean?"

"You were a dick to everyone on Sarah's birthday, even after we asked you to be nice."

"You instigated me!" Joey shouted.

Shane sighed and shook his head in irritation. "I merely pointed out that you were acting like an asshole."

"Yeah?! Well-"

Before Joey was able to finish whatever it was he was about to say, Mike Chioda and Terry "Rhyno" Gerin stormed over to Shane, successfully gaining his attention.

"What the hell, McMahon?!" Rhyno shouted, stomping his left foot angrily.

"What?"

"One of your seemingly endless amounts of WCW employees just cost me my match!"

Shane seemed genuinely surprised. "I apologize."

"Bullshit!" Rhyno shouted, attempting to step forward, but was blocked by Mike Chioda.

"Your employee also put hands on me. Listen, Shane... You know I have nothing but respect for you and your family... But I'd sure appreciate it if you tell your employees to not lay hands on World Wrestling Federation officials." Mike stated.

"I understand, Mike, and I'm truly sorry. I don't know what else to say, really... I mean... I don't tell them what to do, ya know? They're a rowdy group of unruly competitors. But I'll tell them not to lay hands on you, I promise. Can't make any guarantees, especially given the way they treat WCW officials..."

Mike sighed. "It's the thought that counts... Thanks, Shane."

When it looked like Mike was ready to walk away, Rhyno stomped his foot again. "What!? That's _it_!? You're gonna take his word for it?!"

"There's nothing more we can do, Gerin... We spoke to the boss."

Rhyno looked from Shane to Mike and back again. "Yeah, big tough McMahon brat buys a company and calls himself the boss, yet he can't even keep his employees in check... What the hell kind of _boss_ are you, anyway?"

Shane shrugged his shoulders. "A new one..?"

Rhyno scoffed. "You'll never be your dad."

"Good." Shane replied, watching as Mike finally dragged Rhyno down the hall.

"Joey!"

Joey and Shane turned to look up the hall. They saw Rodney and Pete storming towards them, obviously on their way to the gorilla position for their match.

"Oh. You're screwed." Shane mumbled, slowly inching away from Joey.

Rodney grabbed Joey by the shirt and shook him. "Where the hell is my spoon?!"

"I gave it to a crack addict."

Rodney growled and punched Joey, making Pete rush forward to grab Rodney and pull him away. "Real smartass response, Joey."

"What? I couldn't help it."

"Joey," The man in question turned to look at Shane. "Give him back his spoon."

"I don't have his disgusting little spoon." Joey replied.

"Liar!" Rodney shouted, squirming in Pete's arms.

"Save all that energy for the ring, squirt. You're gonna need it to win your match... I would hate for you to continue that losing streak you have going on." Joey stated.

Now it was Shane's turn to grab Pete, as well as Rodney, and block them from charging at Joey. "Stop being an asshole, Joey. Get out of here."

"Ah, who wants to hang around you losers, anyway?" Joey mumbled, then walked down the hall.

Shane stepped away from the Posse and turned to look at them. "Listen, I'm really sorry about his behavior as of late... I don't understand what's going on with him. I honestly thought we were closer to fixing things last week..."

Pete sighed. "It's just like you said at the bar on Thursday... It's Joey's world, we all happen to live in it."

"Yeah... I guess you're right. Listen... You two concentrate on winning your match tonight and winning your titles back at King of the Ring... And I'll get Rodney's spoon back. I promise. Good luck, guys."

"Later, Shane."

* * *

Sarah had just made it to the Posse's locker-room when the boys had to leave for their match. She was sitting down alone, watching the television with mostly uninterested eyes, when a knock on the door took her by surprise.

"Who is it?"

"Shane."

Sarah raised a confused eyebrow, but made her way over to the door and opened it. "The Posse has a match..."

"I know. I'm here to talk to you."

"Oh... Well, come on in."

Sarah ushered Shane in, then closed the door and returned to her spot in front of the television so she could watch the match. She watched as Shane hesitated near the door, then walked over to the couch and sat down.

"Listen... I want to apologize for what happened at the bar on Thursday..."

"With Joey?"

"Yeah... It wasn't-"

"Listen, Shane. You aren't responsible for Joey's actions. You don't have to apologize for him. He has to accept responsibility for what he says and does. But, as they say, karma is a bitch. He'll get his sooner or later."

"Yeah, I guess you're right... But I know it's partially my fault because I'm so insistent on us remaining friends..."

"Rodney is insistent, as well... And I really don't want to see the Posse break up permanently... Joey just needs to relax a little."

"A little?"

"Alright, a lot. He's being a royal douchebag."

"Oh shit."

"Look, there's no reason to overreact about me being mean..."

"No. Well, yeah, there is... But... I mean, look at the screen."

Sarah turned to look at the screen and felt her cheeks grow hot with anger. Joey was in the ring holding a chair, standing over a rather unconscious looking Rodney while Pete was being detained by some WCW competitors.

"Oh my God. Get your ass out there and stop this!" Sarah shouted, then watched as Shane nodded his head and bolted from the room, crashing into the wall in his haste.

* * *

"It's about damn time you're going to reprimand your employees!" Vince shouted the moment he saw Shane turn the corner heading towards the gorilla position.

"Now's not the time!" Shane replied, running through the curtains and down the TitanTron ramp.

Vince turned his attention to the monitor and watched as Shane slid into the ring.

"Ah, the boss is here!" Joey sing-songed.

"Put the chair down, Joey!"

"Are you really gonna pick these two losers over your own employees, Shane?" Joey asked.

Shane looked at Joey, then turned to acknowledge the six WCW competitors in the ring. Booker T, Shawn Stasiak, Lance Storm, Mike Awesome, Sean O'Haire and Chuck Palumbo. He looked back at Joey and sighed. "Don't do this."

"I'm only continuing your plans, Shane. Invade the WWF and make everyone suffer?"

"Pete and Rodney are different. Back off."

"How, exactly, are they different, Shane? They're WWF. That makes them the enemy."

"To you, maybe. To me... No. They're my friends, and that means more to me than this stupid war you guys are starting."

"We didn't start it, Shane. You did!" Joey shouted.

"You're making it worse. Nobody asked _any _of you to get involved in matches and screw the WWF competitors. You're doing that on your own, and it's about damn time I take a stand against it."

"In that case..." Joey's voice trailed off, and he surprised the WCW wrestlers in the ring by smacking Shane in the face with the steel chair.

Shane stumbled backwards and turned around, only to receive an Angle-Slam from Kurt Angle, who then turned Shane onto his stomach and applied the ankle-lock.

Booker T and Lance Storm immediately released their grip on Pete and ran over to where Kurt was with Shane.

"Chuck!" Lance shouted over his shoulder, making Chuck Palumbo storm over to them. The three competitors grabbed a hold of Kurt and dragged him away from Shane, then tossed him out of the ring and forced him up the ramp.

"What the hell, man?!" Shawn Stasiak shouted, looking at Joey in agitation.

"He deserved it," Joey shouted, then lowered himself next to Shane. "Humiliate me like that again and you'll sure as hell regret it... _Boss_."

"Fuck you." Shane mumbled, glaring at Joey as the bigger man stood up.

No sooner did Joey turn around, Rodney hit him in the head with a steel chair, sending Joey to the mat. Joey rolled onto his back and looked up at Rodney.

"See you on Sunday, bitch."


	10. Chapter 10

In Too Deep  
Chapter 10

"This night is going to be really intense and hectic... So I'm asking you to stay back here until we come back... Okay?"

Sarah looked Pete in the eyes and sighed. He was crazy to think she would actually travel around the arena during the Posse's match against Booker T and Joey for the WWF Tag Team Titles... In a cage match.

"I wasn't planning on going anywhere." Sarah replied, making Pete smile.

"Good, because I'd hate for you to miss the epic ass kicking Rod and I are going to deliver to Joey."

Sarah smiled at her boyfriend, then sighed. "I sure wish it wasn't a cage match, Pete... I don't want you or Rodney to get hurt."

"Rodney wanted a cage match." Pete stated.

"You still could have told Vince you didn't want one... He would've listened to both of you."

Pete sighed. "You're talking about the man that put his son in a last man standing match against a 7'2" giant..."

"Point proven... I'm just worried."

"And you have every right to be... Just realize that Rodney and I can handle ourselves. Joey's pissed us off enough for us to not care about how far back we go as friends."

"Good. I certainly hope you get some much deserved revenge."

"Revenge is a really strong word... I prefer punishment."

Sarah smiled, then turned her attention towards the television and watched as Shane screwed Kurt Angle out of winning the King of the Ring tournament.

"Oh my goodness, he's wearing a WCW T-Shirt!"

Pete whirled around to look. "Just when you thought hell was frozen over enough as it is..."

Sarah sighed, then turned her attention to Pete. "I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but... Adam's match is over now... Which means you and Rodney should be at the gorilla position in about thirty seconds."

"Christ," Pete quickly kissed Sarah, then bolted from the room. "Later, baby. Wish me luck!"

Sarah closed the door behind Pete and was about to position herself in front of the television when a knock on the door caught her attention. She opened the door and wasn't really surprised to see Shane standing in the hallway.

"You don't seem surprised to see me."

"Because I know you, and I know you would never let me watch this match alone. Come on in."

Sarah moved out of the way to allow Shane the opportunity to enter and was very surprised when Marissa followed him in. She closed the door and turned to look at them.

"But you seem surprised to see Marissa." Shane stated.

"Well, yeah... I mean... I didn't think you were going to bring her tonight. You didn't bring her to Backlash or WrestleMania." Sarah replied.

"It wasn't Shane's call. I wanted to come tonight... It's better than watching the match at home, ya know? At least I can surround myself with friends who understand."

Sarah nodded her head. "You bet you can... Are you up after Pete and Rodney's match?"

"Yep."

"Oh lord, a double whammy..."

"Could be worse."

"How so? Pete and Rodney are competing against Joey in a cage match and you're competing against Kurt Angle in a street fight. Need I remind you, Kurt has already outsmarted you twice?" Sarah asked.

"Ah, but I outsmarted him twice tonight."

"Point... Oh! Pete!"

Shane turned his attention to the match just as Joey tossed Pete head first into the cage for the second time. He narrowed his eyes angrily and sighed.

"Man, I wish it didn't have to come down to this..."

"Me too." Sarah stated, wringing her hands nervously.

Shane put a supportive arm around Sarah's shoulders. "It's gonna be okay."

Sarah glared at Shane for a moment, then sighed. "Yeah."

Sarah, Shane and Marissa sat in silence and watched as Joey continued his assault on the remaining members of the Posse. Booker T looked quite unsure of what he should do, even while he was facing off against Rodney. It was quite obvious that Booker didn't want Rodney to get anywhere near Joey, although nobody really understood why.

"Let go of me, man!" Rodney shouted.

"No!"

Sarah was shocked when she saw Rodney's face contort in anger. The smaller man grabbed a hold of Booker T and threw him nearly halfway across the ring, then charged over to him and started beating on him. He quickly ran up behind Joey and jumped on his back.

"Woooo! Kick his ass, Rod!" Shane shouted, scaring the ever living hell out of Sarah and Marissa.

"Damn, boy. Whose side are you on?"

"Team Posse."

Sarah raised a confused eyebrow. "Does that mean you have plans on returning to the WWF?"

Shane looked at her with a semi-sarcastic look on his face. Sarah's confusion grew when he didn't say a word as he smirked and looked back at the television. She sighed, looked back at the match and was very happy to see Pete and Rodney were double-teaming Joey. Booker, who was sitting in the corner of the ring, looked like he wanted absolutely nothing to do with Joey.

His plans, however, were ruined when Rodney made his way over to Booker and resumed beating him. He pulled Booker up and Irish whipped him, hard, into the cage. Pete sent Joey following suit, then grabbed him and did it again.

Shane smiled, then turned to look at Marissa. "Sadly, ladies, I must bid you farewell for now. I'll be back once my match is done," Sarah watched as he gave Marissa a quick kiss, and received his goodbye hug. "Later."

Marissa sighed. "I hope he's not planning on giving me another heart attack."

Sarah smiled at her. "I doubt that. It's his trademark."

"You're telling me... Try dating him."

"No thanks."

Within a few moments, the Posse were named the winners of the match and new WWF Tag Team champions. Marissa and Sarah jumped up and started cheering. When the Posse walked into the room with the belts over their shoulders, Marissa and Sarah wasted no time in jumping at them to congratulate them.

"Thank you, thank you." Rodney stated and bowed.

"Stop being such a dork."

"But I can't help it." Rodney whined, reaching for his bag.

"Watcha got there?" Marissa asked.

Rodney pulled out a jar of peanut butter and a spoon, then sat on the couch and opened the jar. Marissa turned to look at Pete and Sarah for an explanation.

"He eats peanut butter when he's nervous." Pete stated, making Marissa raise a confused eyebrow.

"And why is he nervous?" Marissa asked as she took a seat next to Rodney.

"Because Shane is competing in a street fight... And, we all know this, when Shane competes, it's dangerous... You never know what that maniac has up his sleeve."

Marissa nodded in agreement. She reached over and grabbed the jar of peanut butter from Rodney.

"Hey!" Rodney shouted.

Pete settled down next to Sarah and put his arm around her shoulders, allowing her the opportunity to rest her head on his shoulder. The group watched the beginning of the match in complete silence, unsure of how it was going to play out. Nobody really knew what to expect when it came to Shane competing in the ring, and the fact Kurt Angle was mostly dominating in the beginning wasn't helping them much.

"Oh!" Pete shouted, wincing as Kurt kicked Shane in the back of the head.

"Look at his face! He's seeing stars!" Rodney added, then shoved an enormous spoonful of peanut butter into his mouth.

Everyone went silent again as they watched the two battle outside of the ring. They started making their way up the ramp, and Kurt tried suplexing Shane through one of the plate glass windows.

"Oh Jesus. Please don't..."

The room quieted once more as Kurt sent Shane flying through the window. Before long, Kurt sent the younger man flying back through another window. Kurt was eventually able to drag Shane back to the ring.

"Come on, dipshit. Get up and fight!" Pete shouted.

The group cheered when Shane kicked out at two.

"I think he heard you!"

Sarah looked around the room and saw Marissa was literally on the edge of her seat, holding on to Rodney's shirt and occasionally reaching for the jar of peanut butter. Rodney, on the other hand, was clutching to the jar like his life depended on it and was nearly rolled in a ball on the couch. Sarah snuggled closer to Pete and grabbed a hold of his hand.

When she returned her attention back to the match, she saw Kurt had rolled out of the ring and looked under the ring for some "toys." He threw a garbage can lid and a street sign into the ring, then rolled in and grabbed a hold of Shane. He went to Irish whip Shane into the rope, but Shane reversed and clotheslined Kurt. The two grappled back and forth, until Kurt set Shane up for an Angle Slam off of the top rope.

"Oh God!"

Seemingly out of nowhere, Shane hit Kurt between the eyes with a garbage can lid, then knocked him backwards and dropped the lid. He stood up and sighed, then glanced around the crowd. A sly smile spread across his features, then performed a Shooting Star Press. He pinned Kurt and picked up the victory.

"Wooooooooo! The crazy son of a bitch did it!" Pete shouted.

"King of the Ring is Posse night!" Rodney stated, dropping his jar of half-eaten peanut butter with his excitement.

It took some time for Shane to get to the locker-room, but when he did, he gave the Posse the thumbs up. They were slightly alarmed by the blood that seemed to be covering the man's face, hands and arms. He was holding a towel in his right hand and was dabbing at his face with it.

"I advise you to never do what I just did."

Pete nodded. "I take it as it hurt?"

"What'd it feel like?" Rodney asked.

"Yes it hurt, and it felt like running into a brick wall."

"Ouch." Rodney stated, watching as Shane sat down to avoid falling down.

"It's okay... I had a lucky charm," Shane paused and put his free hand in his pocket, then took it out to reveal Rodney's missing lucky spoon. "I believe this belongs to you."

"Oh my God! You got it back!" Rodney shouted, accepting the spoon and holding it close.

"Yeah. Joey tossed it at me on my way to the ring. Said something about you earning it back."

Rodney raised a confused eyebrow. "How can I earn something back when it's already mine?"

"Because Joey's an asshole."

An awkward silence fell in the locker-room. Marissa relocated next to Shane and put an arm around him, being careful about avoiding the blood and glass. After several moments of silence, Sarah realized it was comfortable. It felt almost normal for the five of them to be sitting in silence in the locker-room during a Pay Per View. After all, they were still friends. They'd been there for one another throughout their adolescence.

"Shane?" Sarah asked.

"Mmm-hmm?"

"How do you feel about Joey?"

Shane shifted so he could see Sarah better. "I think he's a prick, and I strongly dislike him... But he's good at what he does and he chose me over my dad... And you guys... Which I feel terrible about, by the way."

"But... _This_ is the Posse. The five of us. Joey was never a part of it. He came around way later."

"I know. But I asked the three of them. He accepted. I can't help that."

"Are you okay?" Marissa asked.

"Just peachy... I have my girlfriend and three of my closest friends sitting with me at an arena... It's just like old times."

"Amen to that."

* * *

**Post upload A/N: I forgot to say this when I originally posted the chapter, but I decided to change the ending to the Shane/Kurt match from King of the Ring. For those who don't remember or never saw it, the match originally ended with Kurt hitting the Angle Slam off of the top turnbuckle and pinning Shane for the victory. I wanted to change it to make it 'Posse Night,' as Rodney stated. Besides that, I think those of us who saw the match can easily say Shane nearly knocked Kurt out with the garbage can lid shot to the face.**

**Anywho, more Invasion drama is approaching! **

**Thanks for reading!**


	11. Chapter 11

In Too Deep  
Chapter 11

Pete narrowed his eyes angrily as the highlights from Smackdown aired during the Raw intro. It hadn't been too long since King of the Ring, and Pete was very grateful for the fact Shane was able to convince Joey to stay away from the Posse, but Smackdown was a little over the line.

A fight had broken out between a few of the WCW competitors, having been instigated by Diamond Dallas Page. Shane stepped in to try and stop it, but was grabbed from behind by Joey. After struggling for a few moments, Joey and Page grabbed a hold of Shane and tossed him into the concrete wall. Rodney was about to storm out of the room when Booker T stepped forward to try and defend his boss. Joey, of course, didn't stand for it.

"Guess Booker and Joey aren't going to be a tag team any more." Sarah had stated.

Pete sighed. Raw was going to start off with a street fight between Shane and Diamond Dallas Page. He wasn't exactly sure why, but something felt off about the match.

"You think something bad's gonna happen?" Rodney asked.

Pete shrugged. "Dunno, man. Something's just... Off."

Rodney raised an eyebrow. "Off as in 'Shane is gonna do something stupid' off or off as in 'WCW can go to hell' off?"

Pete and Sarah snickered. "Both sound good, really." Pete stated.

"Yeah... Well... Unfortunately, we can't stop Shane from doing something stupid... But... When Joey brought him to us after Smackdown was over, we should've knocked the guy senseless and convinced him it was 1999."

"Joey or Shane?"

"Shane. I can live without Joey harassing me every day." Rodney replied.

"Eh. You have a point... But knocking Shane twice as senseless as he already was would've been worse than anything we've ever done."

"It would've solved the WCW problem." Rodney stated.

"Actually... It would've made things worse. Shane would've been mad at you for lying." Sarah stated matter-of-factly, making Rodney and Pete turn to look at her.

"I think he'd be sour at the extra bump on the head."

"I seriously think Taker should stay out of the ring right now." Pete commented, raising a semi-confused eyebrow as he gestured at the television.

"Can you blame the man? The schmuck stalked his wife for like a month... I think that kinda trumps getting knocked out and having a sore shoulder." Rodney stated, waving his spoonful of peanut butter around for emphasis.

"Be that as it may, the match was scheduled to be Shane versus DDP. I don't care if Taker has more... Oh no. Shane, what the hell are you doing!?"

At that very moment on Raw, Shane was making one of the worst possible decisions he could ever make in his life by going against the Undertaker... To defend Diamond Dallas Page.

"What the fuck!?" Rodney shouted at the screen, nearly dropping his jar of peanut butter.

"I'm gonna wring him by the neck!"

"Oh God! Please don't kill him!"

"Why not?! I should, just for the sake of the fans! How could you go from wanting to kill someone one minute to wanting to protect him the next?! Respect the Undertaker, dammit! Listen to every word that man says!"

Rodney leaned into the couch, attempting to inch as far away from Pete as humanly possible. "Please don't eat me."

Just as Pete turned his attention to Rodney, he heard a very familiar voice passing by in the hallway. He stood up and stormed out of the locker-room, ignoring Sarah and Rodney's voices begging for him to mind his own business. He grabbed Shane and tossed him into the wall, then grabbed him by his jersey and lifted him off of the floor.

"What the hell are you playing at?!" Pete seethed, leaning closer to Shane and sneering in the mans face.

Shane struggled for a moment, then calmed himself and looked Pete in the eyes. "I'm assuming the role as Chairman of World Championship Wrestling for the first time since March. Don't get me wrong, Pete. I love Mark, but I can't allow him to tell me what I should be doing during my own match with one of my employees while he handles his own personal affairs. That man assaulted me one night because he thought I was stalking his wife. Now, I realize the man who was stalking his wife was the man I was supposed to be wrestling against tonight, therefore giving him more of a reason to be in the ring with him than me, but the match was signed. He should wait his damn turn instead of pretty much telling me to fuck off."

Pete narrowed his eyes and growled.

"Hey," Pete turned his head to see none other than Diamond Dallas Page standing to his left. "Put my boss down right now, or you're going to regret it."

Pete turned his attention back to Shane and leaned in close to him. "You should be ashamed of yourself, Shane," He mumbled, then lowered him to the ground. He wasn't even feeling gracious enough to straighten out Shane's jersey; he chose to shove him towards Diamond Dallas Page instead. "Get away from me. I don't even want to look at you."

"Pete," It took everything in Pete to _not_ turn around and look at Shane. "I already apologized to Mark."

"Be that as it may... You have a lot of apologizing to do. Start with getting rid of WCW." Pete growled, then stomped back into the locker-room and slammed the door behind him.

"I take it that didn't go well." Rodney stated.

"Bite me." Pete mumbled, sitting down on the couch and putting his head in his hands.

"You shouldn't have been so violent with him, Pete." Sarah commented, taking a seat next to him and turning to look at him.

"I don't care. He pissed me off and he needed to understand that."

"His head is probably still sore, honey. You could have just yelled at him. You know that."

Pete sighed. "Yeah. I just don't care right now. I don't understand why he'd do such a thing... Especially with Mark in the ring."

"Pete, we already discussed this... Mark didn't have any business in the ring. You know that as well as I do, and I'm pretty sure Mark knows it, too."

"Shut up, Rodney!"

"Sorry..."

The Posse sat in silence for several moments, watching Raw with semi-interested eyes. All Pete wanted was a bottle of vodka and a vacation. All Rodney wanted was a ham and cheese sandwich.

The whole WCW situation got a hell of a lot worse when some old competitors from ECW showed up and interrupted a match featuring Chris Jericho and Kane, as a tag team, facing off against Lance Storm and Mike Awesome. Pete nearly jumped off of the couch when he laid eyes on the mayhem in the ring.

"This is a disaster! What the hell is that McMahon brat up to now!?" He shouted.

Pete calmed down long enough to watch as Paul Heyman entered the ring and announced that ECW was back and was also taking part in the invasion. Pete's face turned beat red at the amount of Superstars, namely the Dudley Boyz and Rhyno, defecting to ECW at the command of Paul Heyman. By the time Heyman was finished speaking, Pete was ready to blow his top. Rodney was hiding in the corner, cradling his jar of peanut butter, rocking back and forth and whispering the lyrics to Leonard Cohen's 'Hallelujah.'

"I think you traumatized Rodney." Sarah commented.

Pete looked over at Rodney, then grumbled. "Get off of the floor, Rod. I'm not gonna kill you."

"Praise Jesus," Rodney stated, then got off of the floor and sat back down on the couch, looking at Pete with a raised eyebrow. "What?"

"Nothing. I'm just really angry right now,"

After a few moments of calming down, Pete was able to once again focus on Raw. Vince and Shane had met up backstage, each claiming to have nothing to do with the ECW competitors being there, and each declaring they'd do whatever it takes to get rid of them. It was decided that there would be an inter-company tag team match... Five of WCW's competitors would team with five of WWF's competitors to take on the whole of ECW.

"Don't believe him, Vince!" Pete shouted at the television.

"Peter!" Sarah shouted, slapping her boyfriend on the shoulder.

"What?" He asked, putting on the innocent face.

"Be nice! You don't know what's going on right now!"

"The hell I do! Shane is up to something, I know it. Didn't we all say the longer it took Shane to put his plans into motion, the worse they were going to be? We were right, dammit! I know he's knee deep in this ECW bullshit!"

"Pete, calm down! You're gonna give yourself a coronary!"

Pete took a deep breath. "I apologize. Rod, do you have a stress ball?"

Pete held out a hand without looking and was more than surprised to see a jar of peanut butter in his hand when he finally decided to glance at it.

"Trust me. It's better than a stress ball." Rodney stated, handing Pete a spoon as he did so.

Pete narrowed his eyes angrily, but started eating the peanut butter instead of complaining. "What else could possibly go wrong tonight?" He asked.

"Hopefully, nothing."

"At least we don't have to look at Joey's ugly face." Rodney stated

"Very true. The next time I have to lay eyes on him will be too soon, in my book."

"You said that last week and he came pounding on our door three minutes later." Rodney replied, narrowing his eyes angrily.

"That was an emergency. Lord knows what he would've done with Shane had we declined to help."

"It just makes you two better men than Joey. You should already know that, by now." Sarah commented.

"We know we're better men. It's just hard to accept it when Joey storms around acting like he's Jesus, even when he decides manhandling his boss will work out in his favor."

"Joey's an asshole. We discussed this a million times, already."

"Yeah, yeah. Oh, by the by... How's Danielle?"

Rodney blushed and looked down at his hands. "She's fine... We're a couple now... She wants to come to the show when we're back in her town."

"Awwwwwh! How adorable!" Sarah shouted, hugging Rodney tight enough to make him 'eep' as the air was driven from his lungs.

When Sarah separated from Rodney, she looked down and saw Pete sitting on the couch with his arms crossed over his chest. He was fuming.

"I can't freaking believe we weren't scheduled for the show tonight." He grumbled.

Rodney and Sarah looked one another in the eyes, then looked over at Pete. "It's not all bad, ya know. ECW could've chose to interrupt our match instead of Chris and Glenn's." Rodney stated.

Pete rolled his eyes. "I'd rather compete for a few minutes than have to sit around and do nothing all night."

Rodney sighed. "You, maybe. I'd rather not be screwed over on account of a failed wrestling business."

"Oh, you mean like our good friend Shane allowed to have happen to us multiple times?!"

Rodney's eyes widened. "You take that back! You know damn well that wasn't his fault!"

"Says who, Rodney!? Shane? Can we honestly believe a damn word that comes out of his mouth!?"

"Yes! Because he's our friend!"

"Joey was our friend, too!"

"Joey doesn't count because Joey is an asshole! How many times do we have to discuss this!?"

"Maybe at a lower volume so the whole world doesn't hear you."

Rodney and Pete spun around to see none other than Shane standing in the doorway of their locker-room. He was looking at them with concern in his eyes.

"What the hell do you want?" Pete growled.

"Nothing, really... Just to stop by and say I can hear you arguing near the gorilla position."

"Good. We'll kick up the volume a little."

Shane raised an eyebrow. "Listen here, Pete... I spoke to Mark and he understands it's just business. I can't stand Page; he's an arrogant bastard with a dry sense of humor. Don't think that it's my personal choice. Choosing WCW over WWF, I mean. My instinct tells me to get away from WCW. But I can't, so I have to stick with it."

Pete stepped closer to Shane and grabbed his shoulders. "Shane. You _can_ get away from WCW. Why the hell are you acting so funny?"

"I'm not acting funny."

"You're not a very good liar tonight, Shane."

Shane raised an eyebrow, then sighed. "Yeah, well... Some nights it fizzles. Anyway, I'll catch you guys another time. I have a team to go control."

Pete allowed Shane to slip away from him, then closed the door behind the other man and grumbled to himself. "Is it me, or was he not making any sense tonight?"

"I think he's torn between something..." Rodney stated.

"You're onto something." Pete replied, then sat down and paid close attention to the inter-company match.

Pete wasn't surprised at all when the members of the WWF/WCW team who were WWF refused to listen to Shane; they were too sick of the WCW shit and too afraid of turning on Vince McMahon to go against a direct order. He was surprised, however, that the WCW competitors were getting along with the WWF competitors at first.

"Oh no."

Team WCW turned around to join team ECW in glaring down team WWF.

"You have_ got_ to be kidding me."

"I fucking knew it!"

Vince stormed out onto the ramp. "Shane! What the hell is going on!?"

Pete stood up and punched the wall, then whiled around and pointed at the television. "Jesus Christ, I hate being right! Mute the TV! I don't want to hear his bullshit excuse! I told the two of you earlier that he had something to do with this ECW bullshit! Why didn't you-"

Pete trailed off when he saw none other than Stephanie McMahon prancing down the rampway to join her brother in the ring.

"Oh my God." Sarah gasped.

"Holy shit! Wrestling God, we have a problem!"

* * *

**A/N: Indeed, Rodney. WWF has a problem... Well... A ****_bigger_**** problem now that ECW has arrived.**

**I know I'm jumping around a lot, and I apologize, but I have a list of dates that I feel are most significant to the plot development of this story. **

**Hope you're enjoying this thus far.**


	12. Chapter 12

In Too Deep  
Chapter 12

It was July 22, 2001; the night of the World Wrestling Federation's newest Pay Per View, InVasion. Five members from the WWF would be taking on five members from the Alliance in a five on five tag team "Inaugural Brawl" match. Not to mention, the WWF would be taking on the Alliance in numerous matches; one of which was the Mean Street Posse against Chris Kanyon and Shawn Stasiak. It wasn't a Tag Team Title match, but it was a match, and that's what mattered.

"InVasion. Blah."

Pete looked over at Rodney, who currently had his tongue sticking out of his mouth in obvious distaste.

"Calm down, Rod. Could be worse." Pete offered, making Rodney turn to look at him.

"'Could be worse,' he says. Have you failed to realize that both McMahon kids have gone completely insane?!"

Pete sighed. "No, I definitely haven't... Have you failed to realize Vince is more powerful than both twerps combined?"

Rodney facepalmed. "Please, don't inflate our bosses ego any more than it already is..," Rodney lowered his hand and looked Pete in the eyes. "Are you not at all concerned about what could happen..?"

"To whom? Shane? Steph? Vince? Everyone?"

"Everyone, you buffoon! Okay, Shane and Steph are "invading" the WWF, looking to take over. Vince, of course, is going to battle back with everything he has... What happens to everyone else? I mean... Vince is going to be distracted because they're his kids and all... But... I mean... What happens if they win?"

"Pffft! There's no way in hell Shane and Steph can beat Vince. I mean, come on. There'd be no Shane and Steph if it weren't for Vince!"

Rodney stared blankly at Pete. "Yeah, that's obvious. But... I mean... They _grew up_ in the business. Hell, Shane was making better business deals than Vince when he was ten years old, man. And Stephanie... Well... She's unpredictable."

"The more you talk, the more you're going to piss me off."

"I can't help it, Pete! I'm over-thinking everything!" Rodney shouted.

"Then stop thinking altogether, sit down and shut the hell up! Look, here's some peanut butter. That oughta keep you occupied for at least six minutes!"

Pete shoved Rodney onto a chair, then handed him a jar of unopened peanut butter and his stupid lucky spoon. He patted the man on the head and walked away from him. Sarah kept her eyes on Pete the whole time, wondering what was going through the mans head. Everyone was on edge now that ECW had gotten involved in the Invasion; and Pete hadn't been in a good mood since March.

A knock at the door caught everyone by surprise. Rodney volunteered to answer it.

"I'm not sure you should be here..."

Pete and Sarah watched as Rodney grabbed a hold of someone's arm and hurled them into the locker-room, then slammed the door. Pete's eyes narrowed angrily.

_Shane_.

Pete stormed up to the man, grabbed him by the collar and slammed him into the wall. "What the hell are _you_ doing here?!"

Shane stared at Pete with wide eyes. "To say hello and wish you luck in your match..?"

"Bullshit!" Pete seethed.

Shane sighed. "No bullshit, Pete."

When it didn't look like Pete was going to give up and let go of Shane, Sarah put her hand on his shoulder. "Pete... Honey... He's telling the truth. Let go of him."

Pete glared at Shane, then let him go. "You have a lot of nerve coming here, you know."

"Why? We're still friends, aren't we?"

"We were until you got your little sister involved in your bullshit fight with your dad!"

"She wanted in! And, clearly, I did _not_ sell ECW to her! Think about it, ya moron! How the hell could I own ECW when I didn't even know it was still around?! You should be blaming the one person in the World Wrestling Federation that has the rights to ECW, not me!"

Pete raised a confused eyebrow at Shane, yet continued glaring at him. "Are you saying it was Paul Heyman?"

"That's what I'm saying."

"So... He sold Extremely Crappy Wrestling to your baby sister?"

Shane rolled his eyes. "Yes."

"And you have nothing to say about that?"

Shane locked his jaw and glared at Pete. "I have _a lot_ to say about that, Pete. But she doesn't want to hear it, and Heyman thinks my opinion is worth as much as his shitty baseball cap. Believe me, the _last_ thing I wanted was for Stephanie to get involved in this, but... It doesn't matter anymore because she _is_ a part of it and there's nothing I can do about it."

Pete narrowed his eyes. It was clear to everyone he would have continued his argument with Shane had it not been time for him to Rodney to head down to the ring for their match. "Let's go, Rod."

The two left without another word, making Sarah turn to look at Shane. "I have no idea what his problem is recently."

"He thinks he can't trust me."

Sarah raised an eyebrow. "Can he?"

Shane looked Sarah in the eyes. "Of course he can. I'm not looking to lose you guys as friends... I'm being honest whenever I talk to you. I only wish Pete believed I wasn't trying to screw him."

"It's kind of hard for him to believe that when you asked the Posse to jump to WCW..."

"Yeah, I was asking them to jump to avoid all of the awkward tension going on between us now. Pete and Rod refused to jump, whereas Joey jumped. Now it's almost like we're split in half. I didn't want that to happen. That's why I make an effort to come by and talk to you guys... Or call. But Pete doesn't answer my calls and Rodney never wants to talk for long, so it's kind of hard for me to keep up the friendship when they have no interest in talking to me."

Sarah sat down, trying to turn her attention towards the Posse's match. "They don't know what to say... I know Rodney wants to talk, but doesn't want to piss Pete off..."

"Which is stupid because I remind Pete I'm still his friend every single time I try to talk to him."

"Why are you still here?" Sarah asked.

Shane stared at her. He pouted as he gestured to the television. "You know I never let you watch Posse matches alone..."

Sarah sighed, then gestured to the empty spot next to her. "Please stop hovering, you're making me nervous."

Shane took the seat and remained silent for the majority of the match. He knew in his mind that Chris Kanyon and Shawn Stasiak were no match for the Posse, but he was very concerned about the WCW official in the ring calling it down the middle. He was relieved Nick Patrick wasn't going to be working for the remainder of the night, as the man had his ass handed to him by Earl Hebner earlier during their match, so he didn't have to worry about a spontaneous shoulder injury when an Alliance star was about to lose via pinfall or submission. But the thought of Nick Patrick being so willing to screw over a World Wrestling Federation employee had him concerned, especially when it came to his seniority in the WCW as an official and the fact the man was rather influential. The referee in the ring was Charlie Robinson, and he was only known for screwing over WCW employees in favor of Ric Flair, so Shane was pretty damn sure the Posse was safe.

"Why is Rodney favoring his left arm?" Shane asked, tilting his head in confusion.

"Don't know. He's very private about that kind of thing. The only thing he ever complains about is running low on peanut butter."

Shane turned to look at Sarah with a sly smile on his face. "And his lucky spoon."

Sarah returned the smile. "Right."

They sat in silence for the remainder of the match. The Posse was dominant the entire time, making sure Kanyon or Stasiak didn't have an opportunity to tag out if they were being worked on for more than a few moments. They were also careful about administering submission moves and pinfalls when the man who wasn't in the ring was alert. It was a very clean match as far as Shane was concerned, and after eight minutes and forty-three seconds of wrestling, the Posse won via pinfall.

"Let me get out of here before they come back... I'll see you later, Sarah."

"Bye Shane."

Sarah watched the door shut behind Shane, then sighed and turned her attention back to the television. Shane was right, in a way. It was very clear he still wanted to be friends with the Posse, and she had been there more than once when Pete refused to answer a call from him, so she could say the Posse really didn't do much to uphold their side of the friendship. She was all smiles when Pete and Rodney stormed into the locker-room with enormous smiles on their faces.

"We emerge victorious!" Rodney shouted, fist bumping his way over to his gym bag for the hidden jar of peanut butter.

"I see you're all alone?" Pete inquired, looking around the room.

"Shane left right after you won. He didn't want any problems with you."

Pete nodded his head, however, he didn't seem convinced. "Let me tell you, I was glad I didn't have to punch that referee in the face."

"The only cheating official in the WCW you have to be careful of is that asshole Nick Patrick." Rodney stated.

"Eh, I guess your right. What's-his-name seemed nice enough."

"I think his name is Charlie Robinson." Sarah offered.

"Right. Charlie Robinson. He seems nice enough."

"Are we gonna stick around to watch the main event?" Rodney asked.

"Well, yeah. Steve seems like he's ready to kick some Alliance ass, so I could only hope he's going to send them home crying tonight."

Team Alliance consisted of Booker T, Diamond Dallas Page, Rhyno and The Dudley Boyz, Bubba Ray and D-Von. Team World Wrestling Federation was made up of "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, Kurt Angle, Chris Jericho, Kane and The Undertaker. Shane, Stephanie, Vince and Paul Heyman were all at ringside.

"Can I just say that I think it's ridiculous that Rhyno and the Dudleyz are in this match?"

Pete looked over at Rodney. "Well, they used Joey and Rob Van Dam in different matches earlier, so I guess they're running out of names."

"I guess you're right... I mean, Joey and Rob both won their matches... So I guess the Alliance has something good going for them..?"

Pete shook his head. "The World Wrestling Federation won more matches tonight... Five-four."

Rodney gestured to the screen. "There's still this match."

"Bullshit, the WWF has this one in the bag."

Pete pointed at the screen where, after a few moments of brawling outside the ring, Steve Austin was currently dominating Rhyno in the ring. It didn't take long before Diamond Dallas Page was in the ring and The Undertaker demanded to be tagged in.

"I guess he still didn't forget what Page did to him." Sarah commented, earning grunts of agreement from the Posse.

Pete's jaw nearly hit the floor when Diamond Dallas Page took control of the match after hitting a hangman on The Undertaker. Page continued to dominate The Undertaker until he was able to catch Page off guard and hit him with a DDT.

"Yes! Kick his ass!" Pete shouted.

"Calm down!"

The Undertaker decided to tag Chris Jericho in. Jericho dominated Page until he was able to surprise the other man with a clothesline. He crawled to the Alliance corner and tagged Booker T in. Jericho and Booker traded fists back and forth until Booker was able to hit Jericho with a flapjack. Jericho was quick to get up and get on the defense; knocking the Dudley Boyz off of the apron and making his way to the WWF corner to tag in Kurt Angle. Bubba Ray Dudley grabbed a hold of Angle from behind and delivered a powerful Bubba Bomb, allowing Team Alliance to begin dominating the man. The Undertaker, however, ran into the ring to attack Diamond Dallas Page; successfully starting an inter-company brawl.

"I knew I loved you, Mark!" Pete exclaimed, jumping out of his seat.

Everyone watched as The Undertaker chokeslammed Diamond Dallas Page, then knocked him out of the ring and started battling him through the crowd. Steve Austin was clutching his knee outside the ring, Kurt Angle and Booker T were lying in the ring, and Kane was being double teamed by the Dudley Boyz. Before long, Kane grabbed a hold of D-Von and chokeslammed him through one of the announce tables. Bubba Ray and Rhyno were quick to send Kane through the other announce table by performing a double suplex. Jericho ran out of nowhere, delivered a strong shoulder block to Rhyno and knocked him through a table.

"What the hell is going on!?" Rodney shouted.

Bubba Ray and Booker double teamed Angle until Angle fought back, performing a German suplex to Booker, and an Angle Slam to Bubba Ray. Angle attempted to apply the ankle-lock on Booker, but Booker kicked him into the referee. Booker performed another flapjack, successfully knocking Angle down. Vince grabbed a hold of the World Wrestling Federation championship and attempted to give it to Kurt Angle, however, Shane was quick in grabbing it, and even quicker to introduce it to his fathers face.

"You son of a bitch!" Pete snarled.

Shane took a swing at Angle but missed. Angle was able to grab both Shane and Bubba Ray and knock the two of them out of the ring. Angle performed an Angle Slam on Booker, then applied the ankle-lock. After sending the referee back in the ring, Austin quickly slid back into the ring and performed the Stone Cold Stunner on Kurt Angle. Booker then pinned Angle and the referee dropped to the apron to count.

"What the hell!?" Rodney snapped.

"Steve! No!"

The Posse watched in shock as the referee counted down.

"Oh my goodness." Sarah stated.

Steve helped roll Angle out of the ring. He called for the beer and celebrated with Shane, Stephanie and Paul Heyman as InVasion went off the air.

"I can't believe this." Rodney stated, rubbing his forehead.

"This InVasion bullshit just got a whole lot worse."

* * *

**A/N: I was ten years old during the Invasion, and I can't tell you if I remember crying or cheering when Austin jumped ships to the Alliance. I was a big Shane fan, so if Austin was going to betray the World Wrestling Federation, I was all for it. I can tell you that a friend of mine cried... And I did the Shane-O-Shuffle to try and cheer him up. **

**Anywho, more Alliance/WWF drama ahead!**


	13. Chapter 13

In Too Deep  
Chapter 13

Pete and Rodney looked down the hallway at where Vince McMahon was currently standing with Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and rolled their eyes in disgust. The man left the company to test out an acting career, and Vince was practically on his knees begging for the man to return to the World Wrestling Federation instead of teaming up with the Alliance.

"Can you believe this? I mean... He's pretty much begging a Hollywood sellout for help." Pete stated, making Rodney look over at him.

"Everyone else is happy to see him. I mean... The Alliance has Stone Cold Steve Austin... That was a big blow."

"We have Kurt Angle on our side, and he's doing a damn fine job of putting Austin in his place when he gets the chance."

"Yeah, but don't you think we could use someone else..?"

"No. Vince has everyone he needs. I still don't understand why he won't give Jericho a shot."

"For the love of all that is holy, thank you!"

Pete whirled around when the voice of Chris Jericho met his ears. "What?"

"Thank you! For what you just said, I mean. I don't understand why nobody is giving me a shot, either. I don't like this," Chris paused to gesture at Vince and The Rock. "At all. I mean... Sure, he was great... Once. But he left us to go be in a mediocre film for three and a half minutes. Snooze and you miss him. But the World Wrestling Federation has a ton of stars that can compete with the Alliance and easily kick all of their asses. Especially Steve's. We'll kick his twice."

"Can we kick Joey's twice, too?" Rodney asked.

"What kind of question is that, junior? Of course you can. Anyway... Yeah. I don't get why everything has to be about The Rock." Chris replied.

"Neither do I."

"Easy, guys. He's a big deal." Rodney stated.

"He _was_ a big deal, Roland."

"Rodney."

"That's what I said. He _was_ a big deal... It's about time where he passes the mantle to the stars that won't turn their back on this company for a shot at Hollywood."

"He still deserves a chance."

Chris turned to look at Rodney again. "Listen here, junior... There's no reason why he deserves a chance when Vince has people _waiting_ for a chance to get their hands on Austin. If anyone would give me a chance, I'd be more than happy to kick some major Alliance ass, believe me. But, no. Now everyone only cares about him."

"If you couldn't get the job done at InVasion, I don't understand-"

"Shut your cake hole, Roderick! You weren't even_ in_ that match, so you have no right to talk about what we should have done. We got screwed over by our team captain. How the hell do you think that makes us feel?"

"My name is Rodney."

"That's what I said."

Rodney huffed in annoyance and turned away from Chris and Pete.

"Pay no attention to him, Chris. He just doesn't understand our concern with the safety of this company."

"Bite me, Gasparino." Rodney growled.

"Shut up, Rupert. The big boys are talking."

"Screw the both of you." Rodney stated, then stormed off.

Chris and Pete watched him go, then turned to look at one another. "What the hell is his problem?" Chris asked.

"I don't know, Chris. He's been testy since this whole WCW thing started. Got worse when Joey left and Shane decided to turn into a prick."

Chris didn't look convinced. "I don't think Shane is being a prick, Pete... I think he's been listening to the wrong people."

Pete raised a confused eyebrow. "Like who?"

"I know Paul Heyman has been in his ear for awhile... And, let me tell you from experience, Heyman isn't the right person to be listening to for more than three seconds."

"Shane did say Heyman doesn't think his opinion is worth a damn..."

"See, now? Is that the type of business partner you'd want?"

"No. But I'm not Shane, and I can't tell him what to do."

"Yeah, but he's your friend... And we all know Shane is very loyal to his friends. He'll listen if you keep on him about it."

* * *

Rodney continued stomping around the arena angrily until he slammed head first into none other than Shane McMahon. Shane stumbled back, whereas Rodney wound up on his ass.

"God dammit, Rod! You have a hard head!" Shane groaned, reaching down to help Rodney up while he rubbed his head with his free hand.

"Sorry. You okay?" Rodney asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. You?"

"I'm okay... What are you doing here?"

Shane raised a confused eyebrow. "Uhhhhhh... I should be asking you that question. You're right next to the WCW locker-room."

Rodney looked next to him and, sure enough, the WCW logo was right in front of him. He looked back at Shane, slightly panicked. "I'm sorry."

"Dude, it's fine. Calm down. My guys aren't possessive... I mean, they're not gonna storm out here and kick your ass for being over here. They know you're my friend, number one. Number two, they don't chase off World Wrestling Federation employees."

Rodney calmed down instantly. "So, um... What's up?"

Shane shrugged his shoulders. "Nothing, really... I can tell you one thing, though... I don't understand what the big fuss is over Dwayne coming back tonight."

Rodney once again raised a confused eyebrow. "What do you mean? You're the one who brought it up with everyone... And it's coming down to a big battle between the WWF and the Alliance over which side he's gonna choose."

Shane rolled his eyes. "It's obvious Dwayne is gonna side with the World Wrestling Federation... Anyone who has a brain can figure that much out."

"Then why this big thing over it?"

Shane shrugged his shoulders again. "I like creating drama."

Rodney rolled his eyes. "Boy."

"I do have something to ask you, though."

"What's that?"

"Do you think we can somehow get Joey and Pete to start talking again? I mean... The three of you promised to talk more and that never happened... I mean, you and Pete barely talk to me."

"That's a completely different-"

"No, no... Don't give me that, Rod. I don't want to hear 'it's a completely different story' because it isn't, okay? It's the same story. You two don't talk to Joey because you feel he betrayed you, and you don't talk to me because I make you uncomfortable."

"I want to talk to you! But... Pete..."

"You have to stop thinking about how your actions are going to bother Pete. You're talking to me right now, aren't you?"

"Yeah."

"And where's Pete?"

"Off talking to Chris Jericho."

"And I guarantee you that you stormed off because they were making fun of you."

"How did you-"

"I know things, okay? You're my friend, Rodney... I know how you get. I want the Posse to be friends again, but... I don't know. Things just aren't going to work out that way, are they?"

"That's the thing, Shane. Joey wasn't in the Posse for a long time. It started off as just you, me and Pete. Why can't we continue things the way they were instead of how we got used to things while in high school?"

"It's not that easy, Rod."

"Anything can be easy if you set your mind to it."

Shane raised a sarcastic eyebrow at Rodney. "Right, so you're saying it would be easy to get Pete and Joey to start talking again because I'm setting my mind to it..?"

Rodney opened his mouth to speak, then closed it again. "You're twisting my words." He finally stated.

"No, I'm not. I'm using them in context."

Rodney groaned. "Shane... I'm telling you, it's not going to work. Please listen to me."

"Hey. You guys promised."

After a few moments of staring Shane in the eyes, Rodney groaned again. "Ugh... Fine. I'll see what I can do on my end."

"Likewise. Thank you."

* * *

Once Rodney stepped into the Posse's locker-room, Pete stormed over to him, absolutely fuming. "Why did you have to go and embarrass me in front of Chris like that?"

"I was being honest!" Rodney replied.

"Honest about what? Your man crush on The Rock?"

"I don't have a man crush on The Rock, dipshit. I'm being honest... People want to see him back. He connects with the fans and some of the guys like having him around."

"Yeah... Well... Chris and I don't want him back. How could you support someone for turning their back on this company for Hollywood?"

Rodney huffed in annoyance. "I'm sure you would do the same thing, if given the opportunity."

"I have enough respect for Vince to _not_ do that... As I know you do."

Rodney sighed. "I don't know what to tell you, Pete. If Vince forgave him enough to invite him back, then everyone else should, too."

"Whatever, man."

Sarah watched as Pete turned away from Rodney and stalked over to a different corner of the locker-room. She noticed Rodney seemed a little tense... He wasn't standing anywhere near his bag, nor did he have a jar of peanut butter in his hand, so she knew something was up.

"What's on your mind, Rod?" She asked.

He turned to look at her, then sighed when he noticed Pete turned to look at him, as well. "Um... When I walked away from Pete and Chris... I ran into Shane..."

"Screw him."

"No. He brought up something that I didn't think he would remember. You, me and Joey all promised to calm the hell down and be civil in front of one another."

"That was before Joey stole your lucky spoon."

"Yeah, but we still made a promise that night."

Pete's agitation was made very obvious by his facial expression. He narrowed his eyes at Rodney and locked his jaw. "Why now, huh?"

Rodney shrugged. "I don't know. I mean... I thought Shane was going to give up trying to put the pieces back together after Sarah's birthday... I mean... What can I say? He's... Determined."

"A determined Shane is a scary one." Sarah commented.

"Right. I prefer him intoxicated." Pete stated, once again trying to wave off the conversation.

"Pete, I'm serious. He's working on Joey as we speak."

"And I doubt he's making progress."

* * *

"No. Absolutely not. And, if you mention it one more time, I'm going to pound the shit out of you, regardless of the fact you're my boss."

Shane narrowed his eyes at Joey. "You promised."

Joey stood up from his seat and stormed up to Shane, once again cornering the man and looking him in the eyes. "I said shut up."

"You promised to stop being a dick. And I'm not gonna shut up, Joey. You aren't the boss of me."

Joey frowned. "So you're saying I _have_ to listen to you because _you're_ the boss of _me_?"

"No. I'm saying you have to listen to me because your ass made a promise, like it or not... And I take promises _very_ seriously."

"Take your promise and shove it up your ass, McMahon."

"It's not my promise."

When Joey was about to punch Shane in the face, the smaller man ducked out of the way, making Joey teeter head first into the wall. "You son of a bitch!"

Shane snorted. "You're such an ass."

Joey narrowed his eyes angrily at Shane. "I doubt Rodney convinced Pete to talk it out."

Shane shrugged. "Dunno."

The knock on the door took Joey by surprise, so Shane reached over and opened it. Rodney, Pete and Sarah were on the other side, looking somewhat baffled.

"Um... Hi." Rodney stated, waving sheepishly.

"'Sup?" Shane greeted.

Pete and Joey looked over at one another, then groaned. "I can't believe Rodney actually got your attention." Joey mumbled.

"It was the only way I could get him to shut his trap... You know how he gets when he's all whiney because he wants something."

"Ooooh, true that." Joey agreed.

"Hey! Like it or not, we actually did make a promise to keep talking and be civil towards one another." Rodney stated.

"Rod's right, boys. I don't care what happens in the ring... You have to do what my dad told you to do back in '99 when you had to kick my ass... Leave the friendship at the curtain. That's the only way you guys can still be civil with one another now."

Joey, Rodney and Pete looked at Shane, almost as if they were inspired by his words, then turned to look at one another. "I think we can make this work." Rodney declared.

Pete and Joey continued staring at one another. "Yeah. For now."

Shane clapped his hands together, catching everyone off guard. "Lovely! Now, if you don't mind me, I have to go and get humiliated in the ring. See ya later!"

Everyone in the room watched Shane leave, then turned to look at one another again. "What is he talking about?" Pete asked.

"Dwayne is siding with the World Wrestling Federation, which means a Rock Bottom and a People's Elbow are in Shane's not-so-distant future." Rodney replied.

"What the hell do you mean Dwayne is siding with the World Wrestling Federation? How do you know?"

Joey turned to look at Pete. "Shane's been saying it all day. I mean, Dwayne hasn't said what he's picking, but Shane knows him well enough to tell he's WWF all the way."

"Shit. I was kind of hoping he'd go Alliance or go home. I don't want him around." Pete stated.

Joey shrugged. "Some of the Alliance doesn't want him around, either."

"Really?" Pete asked, quirking a confused eyebrow.

"Yeah. The guys don't take kindly to Hollywood sellouts coming back for a second run."

Pete turned to look at Rodney. "See?! That's what Chris and I were saying!"

"That's only the opinion of several people... Need I remind you, everyone is entitled to their own." Rodney stated.

Joey turned to look at Rodney. "You_ still_ have a dude crush over Dwayne?"

"How did what I just say have anything to do with that? Which, by the way, I do not!"

"Bull!" Pete and Joey shouted in unison.

"That was totally creepy." Sarah mumbled, making the Posse jump and turn to look at her, as if just noticing she was there.

"Why do you always have to be so quiet?" Rodney asked, pouting.

"You forgot I was here?" Sarah questioned, fixing Rodney with a glare.

Rodney slowly hid behind Pete. "Save me!"

"No way, man. You brought this on yourself." Pete stated, walking away from Rodney to leave him out in the open.

"Noooo! Joey!?"

"Hell no, man!" Joey stated, dodging Rodney when he attempted to hide behind the bigger man.

"No! Don't leave me out in the open! She's gonna murderize me!"

"Rodney." Sarah warned, inching closer to the person in question.

By the time Shane returned to the locker-room, Sarah was mock-punching Rodney while Pete and Joey cheered her on. He stood in the doorway for several moments, taking the sight in and trying to actually process it in his mind. Before he could stop himself, he ran into the room, knocked Rodney to the ground and smirked at him.

"Shane, please save-"

"Dog pile!" Shane shouted.

"NO!"


	14. Chapter 14

In Too Deep  
Chapter 14

Pete and Sarah were sitting in the Mean Street Posse locker-room feeling rather lonely. Sure, they had one another, but Rodney hadn't made it to the arena yet. It was awfully quiet without him around, and even Pete seemed bored out of his mind without their random friend.

Truth be told, Sarah would give anything to go back to the Monday Night Raws of 1999, even though they meant dealing with Joey and a usually very agitated Shane, than have to deal with a lack of Rodney in the room at the moment. However, she was proud of the Posse, as they kept their promise from however long ago, although it was brought the week before by Shane, to keep the peace amongst themselves and be civil towards one another. Sarah had been present for several three-way calls between the Posse during the week, and was more than happy to take part in one when Shane had asked Pete to put her on.

"You don't think anything is wrong, do you? I mean... Rodney always calls..."

Sarah looked at her boyfriend and sighed. He was right, Rodney always called if he was going to be late. But, on the other hand, Rodney was a grown man who was more then capable of taking care of himself. She told him that much.

"Still!" Pete insisted, gesturing wildly with his hands to show how concerned he was.

It was out of character for him, and that's what had Sarah worried. "I'm sure everything is okay, Pete. You need to relax a little." Sarah stated, offering her boyfriend a warm smile.

That seemed to calm Pete down a little. "Thanks, babe."

Just as Pete finished his sentence and leaned in to kiss Sarah, Rodney walked into the locker-room and started mock-hurling when he saw the couple kissing.

"Oh God, gross! Can't you two save it for another time! Ya know, when someone can't just walk into the same room you're in?"

Pete and Sarah turned to look at Rodney, then narrowed their eyes at him. Sarah smiled, whereas Pete stuck his tongue out angrily. "It's what you get for being so late." Pete stated.

Rodney rolled his eyes. "You two suck face even when I'm right next to you, so don't give me that mumbo jumbo."

"You never seem disturbed by Shane and Marissa."

"That's because they're decent enough to only give pecks in front of other people! But no, you two go at it like it's a shootout for a hockey game!"

Pete honestly tried not to laugh, but he couldn't help himself. He walked over to Rodney and hugged him. "Next time, why don't you call ahead of time so we won't suck face if we know to expect you?"

Rodney glared at him. "Dude... Did you not just hear what I said about a shootout at a hockey game..?"

"I did, but I'm choosing to ignore your statement." Pete stated, giving Rodney a dismissive wave.

Rodney face-palmed. "Remind me how I put up with you, again..?"

"Because you love me. Now, where the hell were you?"

"I saw Shane when I got here and got into a conversation. He took my peanut butter away from me." Rodney pouted.

"Hallelujah!" Pete exclaimed.

"Not funny, Pete."

"Why'd he take the peanut butter away?" Sarah asked.

"I dunno. Said something about me possibly getting fat from eating so much of it. He gave me fruit instead."

"Yeah, because the sugar in fruit will totally help you out." Pete glared.

"Problem? Take it up with Shane," Rodney stated, sticking his tongue out at Pete. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to use the little boy's room."

Rodney excused himself from the locker-room, making Pete and Sarah look at each other strangely. "He's acting funny." Sarah observed.

"Yeah. Just a little."

"What do you think?"

Pete shrugged. "Don't know, really... I mean... Rodney is unpredictable in the first place..."

"I guess you're right... But, still. He's usually not so antsy... Unless Shane is getting ready to dive off of the forty-five foot tall TitanTron scaffolding."

Pete laughed. "Yeah... I mean, he did say he stopped to have a conversation with Shane. Maybe he's planning on doing something stupid tonight..?"

"I certainly hope not. Rodney will break into a local store to get his peanut butter fix."

The knock at the door completely stopped Pete from laughing at Sarah's comment, so he grumbled as he walked over to the door and opened it. Vince McMahon was, once again, breathing fire.

"Whoa." Pete commented, eyes widened.

"Please tell me," Vince paused to calm himself down. "You're watching Raw?"

Pete shook his head no. "Should I be?"

Vince narrowed his eyes at Pete, and the younger man was positive his boss was willing him to spontaneously burst into flames. "Do I have to answer that?"

"No sir," Pete rushed forward and turned the TV on, then stared at it, trying to figure out what Vince's problem was... And then he saw it. "Oh my God."

Sarah turned to look, as well. She swore her chin hit the floor. "Oh my God. Rodney!"

Sure enough, Rodney was in the ring with Chuck Palumbo and Sean O'Haire. The two were holding the smaller mans arms in the air in victory, and Rodney had a boot placed conveniently on the chest of Jeff Hardy. Matt Hardy, on the other hand, was writhing in pain on the outside of the ring. Paul Heyman and J.R., however, were arguing over whether the interference was just that, an interference. Paul was defending it, whereas J.R. was calling him an idiot.

"An interference is an interference, Paul! It doesn't matter who's doing it; it's still illegal and will end in the immediate disqualification of the person or persons not touched!"

"Say what you want, Jim Ross, but the fact is this... The Alliance has gained a new member!"

Pete shut the TV off, unable to listen or watch any more. He slowly turned to look back at Vince. "I'm sorry, Mr. McMahon. I didn't know."

"I'm sure you didn't know, Pete... I don't even think Rodney was sure until he left your locker-room."

"What does that mean?" Pete asked.

Vince sighed. "Well... Chris Jericho was walking by earlier and saw Joey around here. Once Rodney left the locker-room, Joey walked up to him and the two started talking. I think Rodney went with him and was eventually convinced to jump."

Pete narrowed his eyes. "I bet this has something to do with Rodney talking to Shane when he got here..."

Vince raised an eyebrow. "Shane isn't here tonight."

Pete's eyes widened. "What?"

"Yeah, Marissa and Linda both called me. He's real sick," Vince paused for a moment. "Wait, what do you mean Rodney was talking to Shane earlier?"

Pete shrugged his shoulders. "When Rodney got here, which was only about ten minutes ago, mind you, he said when he got to the arena, Shane stopped him and the two were talking for awhile."

Vince clicked his tongue. "I happen to know for a fact my son isn't here tonight. Maybe he was talking to Stephanie or Heyman and didn't want to admit to it... In which case, I don't blame him. I know if he says he's talking to Shane, you won't question it."

"Yeah, and that happens to be a problem I have," Pete paused and ran a hand over his face. "Thanks for bringing this up to me, Mr. McMahon..."

"No problem, Pete. What are you going to do now?"

"How do you mean?"

"Well, you can't hold up the WWF Tag Team titles on your own... Hence why they're called 'tag team.' Team, as in two people."

"Yeah, I get it, Mr. McMahon... Um... I don't know right now. I have to think... This has to settle, and then I have a bone to pick with your kids."

Vince nodded. "Right... Now, please... Be gentle. They're still my kids."

Before Pete could think of a response, let alone get the chance to tell Vince he wasn't planning on hitting his kids (especially Stephanie because he strongly believes in not hitting women, thank you very much, Vincent Kennedy McMahon), the older man turned around and left the locker-room. Pete closed the door behind him, then turned to look at Sarah.

"Are you okay?" Sarah asked.

Pete sat down and put his head in his hands. "First Shane goes off and buys WCW, then Joey follows him like a lost puppy... Now Rodney!? After all the time Rodney spent complaining about the Alliance, particularly Joey's existence, he suddenly decides he'd rather work for Shane?!"

Sarah sighed. "Baby, you and I both know that Shane isn't all that bad..."

Pete scoffed. "You're right. Heyman is the one to beware of," Pete sighed and ran a hand down his face. "I just can't believe this is happening. Why did Rodney have to leave, too?"

"I don't know, hun... But you have to be calm, okay? Think things out before you do anything."

Pete looked Sarah in the eyes. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Your hand is balled into a fist."

Pete blinked, then looked down at his hand. He unclenched his fist, then looked back at Sarah. "Sorry... I'm just really pissed off right now. Rodney is gone. How the hell is that even possible? He hates WCW, and he hated ECW even more! And now he left me with the tag titles. What the hell am I supposed to do about that?"

Sarah shrugged her shoulders. "Mr. McMahon said it best... Find another partner."

"Yeah, that's so easy for me to do. Who the hell would want to team with someone when every tag team partner I've ever had jumped ships to the Alliance?"


	15. Chapter 15

In Too Deep

Chapter 15

"Hello? Earth to Pete!"

Pete snapped out of the daze he was in when he heard Sarah's voice. He noticed she was in front of him, waving a hand in his face, attempting to get his attention. When she noticed he was looking at her, she smiled at him.

"Yes?" Pete asked.

"Well, for starters, you haven't spoken a word in nearly fifteen minutes… You've been sitting there staring into space since we got here. I bet you didn't even know Vince was in here."

"Vince was here?!"

"Yeah, a little while ago. He wanted to know if you found a partner yet, so I told him you were still looking… He said you have until Smackdown to find a partner because he wants you to put the titles on the line at Unforgiven and he would like for you and your new tag partner to mesh by then."

"What did you tell him?"

"About you not listening..? I said you were meditating. He figured you were angry because of what happened last week with Rodney and all… And he once again requested you be careful when approaching his kids."

Pete rolled his eyes. "Number one, I would never hit a woman, so Stephanie is safe. Number two, why the hell is he being so protective when it comes to Shane?"

Sarah shrugged. "I don't know, Pete… I assured him you wouldn't make a fool of yourself in the ring."

"I never make a fool of myself, Sarah."

"Are we including your twenty-first birthday party?"

Pete's cheeks tinted pink. "That has nothing to do with any of this! You promised you wouldn't bring that up again…"

"I know, I'm sorry… I was only teasing…"

"I know you were."

After a few moments of silence, Sarah sighed. "What I meant… By assuring Vince you wouldn't do anything stupid, that is… Was 'yes, Mr. McMahon, Pete will not go out to the ring and confront your son in front of the world and scream at him condescendingly for luring Rodney to the Alliance when he wasn't even here last week.'"

Pete raised both eyebrows in amusement. "And why would you tell him that..?"

"Because he doesn't want you to confront Shane."

"I honestly don't understand why…"

Sarah shrugged her shoulders again. "Vince seems pretty adamant about leaving Shane alone, so I suggest you listen to him. Maybe he's still feeling under the weather..? I don't know. Either way, Vince said Shane is off limits, so… Listen to him."

Pete huffed in annoyance. "I think it's just about time someone confronted the damn fool."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"I have other plans for tonight, Sarah, and I think I'm going to stick with them."

"What?! Are you insane!? I promised Vince you weren't going to-"

"Well, then… You shouldn't have made a promise without asking me first."

"Peter!"

"Sarah!"

"Baby… Don't confront him in the ring… Just… Don't. He's supposed to be one of your best friends, isn't he? Don't do this to him on his first night back in a week."

"Why not? He went behind my back to recruit Rodney."

"How do you know it was him?"

"I'm sure he has some say in what goes on in that damn organization."

"And if he didn't know until today?"

Pete stared at Sarah in silence. He really had nothing to say in response to that. Honestly, he didn't give it much thought. Shane had to know something, he just knew it.

There was a knock on the door, making Sarah and Pete look over at it. "You're up in five, Gasparino."

Sarah turned to look at Pete and narrowed her eyes angrily. "You're seriously going out there?"

Pete once again raised his eyebrows. "Why else would a stage hand tell me I'm due at the gorilla?"

"Peter…"

"What the hell do you want me to do, Sarah Bear?!"

"Number one, stop yelling at me… Or I'll kick your ass."

Pete sighed. "Sorry."

"It's fine," Sarah paused for a moment, then sighed and looked Pete in the eyes. "Baby, Vince is going to flip."

"Then let him flip, honey. I have a right to open my mouth once in awhile, whether it's in the ring or back here. I'll see you in a few, okay? I promise I won't hit him." Pete stated, then leaned forward to give Sarah a quick peck on the cheek.

"You'd better not." Sarah replied, watching him leave the room.

By the time Pete got to the gorilla position, he had a perfect speech planned out in his head and he was extremely close to not having the urge to punch Shane in the face. Sarah did have a point when she said he wasn't even around the previous week, after all... Then again... Pete was sure Shane had some say in what went on with the Alliance... Like who they wanted to steal from the World Wrestling Federation, for example. Pete let his thoughts get away with him once again, and before he knew it, he was standing in the ring with a microphone in his hand.

"I know it's been awhile since you've seen me... But a lot of things have been going on... As you all know, last week on Raw, my tag team partner Rodney decided to defect to the Alliance... While I refuse to comment any further on the situation, I can guarantee all of you that I will remain here in the World Wrestling Federation, unlike the rest of the Mean Street Posse. You see, two years ago when the Posse first came here, we made the promise that we'd always have each others backs. Shane McMahon was the first one to screw us over when he sided with Test... Hell, who could blame him, really..? I'd do the same thing if some arrogant jerk called my little sister a slut... Then he bought World Championship Wrestling from Ted Turner back in March. We thought everything would be okay because he assured us it would. Joey jumped ships. Fine, whatever. But... What happened last week... That was just... That pushed me over the line. Shane McMahon... You'd better get your ass down here right now and explain yourself before I come back there and punch your teeth in!"

Pete didn't have to wait long before Shane started making his way down the ramp. Pete was searching his face for any type of emotion. By the time Shane made it into the ring, Pete realized the other man was slightly confused about Pete's hostility towards him. He narrowed his eyes angrily at Shane to let him know he meant business... And desperately tried to ignore the possible fevered tint to Shane's cheeks. "Pete..."

"Don't 'Pete' me, Shane," Pete warned, glaring at the other man again. "What you and your bitch of a sister did last week was wrong. I mean... Come on, Shane. We've had this conversation dozens of times. Rodney and I told you we didn't want any part in the Alliance. Why wouldn't you listen? Are you seriously that stubborn? Or did you just feel like taking my damn tag team partner away from me?"

"Pete, that wasn't my idea."

"Bullshit, Shane. Don't you dare lie to me right now."

Shane seemed genuinely confused. "What do you want me to tell you? Huh, Pete? Tell me what you want to hear and I'll parrot it back to you. I don't understand what you want from me right now. You know damn well I wouldn't pull that crap with you and Rodney. I told you multiple times that if you didn't want to jump to the Alliance, I wouldn't force you."

Pete once again narrowed his eyes angrily. "Then explain to me why Rodney jumped."

"I. Don't. Know." Shane seethed.

Pete stepped forward and fisted his hand in Shane's shirt, then pulled him close. He ignored the fact there was heat radiating off of Shane and chose to snarl in his face. "Don't make me beat you in the middle of the ring. Tell me why Rodney jumped. What the hell did you say to him?!"

"I wasn't even here last week!" Shane shouted, trying to push Pete away from him.

Pete, however, pushed Shane until he was pinned against the turnbuckle, literally leaving him with nowhere to go. "I. Don't. Care! Tell me what I want to know!"

"How can I when I don't know what you want to know?!" Shane shouted.

Pete balled his hand into a fist, reared back and punched Shane in the nose. He watched Shane bring a hand up to his nose as he stared at the bigger man with wide eyes. It took a moment for Pete to realize what he did. A part of him wanted to apologize, but the other part wanted to use his friend as a punching bag. In fact, he actually wanted to beat that stupid abused puppy dog look off of Shane's face...

Pete allowed the microphone to slip out of his hand and land with a soft thump on the mat. He heard Sarah's voice in his head, constantly playing like a song on repeat. She promised Vince he wouldn't touch Shane. She promised Vince he wouldn't humiliate anyone out in the ring. He promised Sarah he wouldn't hit Shane… Well… He just to happened to have punched Shane in the nose, and he might have succeeded in slightly embarrassing himself...

Oh, to hell with it!

Pete charged forward, grabbed Shane by the shoulders and threw him across the ring. He stormed over to Shane, knelt down and was about to punch him in the face again, but the pure terror in Shane's eyes stopped him.

"Man up!" Pete shouted, once again balling his hand into a fist and rearing back.

"Pete! Please! Stop!"

Pete could've slapped himself for listening. He hesitated long enough for Shane to cover his face up with both arms. "Tell me, dammit!"

"I don't know, okay!? I'm serious, I don't know. I wasn't here... Ask anyone. Please stop it!"

When the crowd started booing, Pete figured there was trouble, so he looked up and saw a group of Alliance wrestlers, ironically including Joey, surrounding the ring. "Get the hell away from him."

"Go screw yourself." Pete retorted, threatening to lower his fist.

"Pete," The man in question looked up again, this time seeing Stephanie McMahon glaring at him. "If you don't get away from my brother, you're going to regret it. Back off and I'll tell the boys to back off. Continue doing what you're doing and you can kiss your career goodbye."

Pete looked down at Shane, then back at Stephanie. "You don't have the guts."

Stephanie raised a sarcastic eyebrow. "Oh... Don't test me," She paused, seeing if Pete would believe she was being serious and would heed her warning. When it looked like he wasn't going to back away, she sighed. "Fine, then. Suit yourself. Don't say I didn't warn you."

Just as the group of Alliance wresters were about to jump into the ring and attack Pete, Chris Jericho and some other guys from the World Wrestling Federation jumped over the barricade behind the commentators and slipped into the ring. They surrounded Pete, protecting him from the Alliance.

"How are ya, junior?" Chris asked.

"Just peachy." Pete replied.

"Did you hear what you wanted to hear?"

"No."

"Okay. I'll distract them," Chris paused, turning his attention to the members of the Alliance outside of the ring. "Listen up, ass clowns! You'd better get away from this ring before we make you regret it!"

"Mind your own business, Jericho!" Stephanie shouted over the microphone.

"This is my business, Princess. You'd better get your mindless apes away from this ring."

"Then tell that mindless ape to get his mitts off of my brother!"

"Are you going to tell me what I want to know or not!?" Pete shouted.

"For the last time, Pete... I don't know what you want to know. I wasn't here. Ask my sister or Paul Heyman. Okay? They handled any deals that went on last week."

Pete leaned closer to Shane. "Give me one good reason not to beat your goddamn face in."

"I don't have one." Shane replied.

"Last warning, Jericho!" Stephanie shouted.

"Running out of time, here…" Chris mumbled to Pete.

Pete looked up to see the wrestlers from the Alliance had jumped onto the apron and were most likely waiting for him to hit Shane again so they could storm into the ring. He looked back down at Shane again. "Call them off."

"You heard her. Back off and they'll back off."

"Blow me."

"Inappropriate much?" Chris asked.

Shane looked back and forth between Chris and Pete, then sighed. "Give me the microphone."

Chris looked around where he was standing and saw the microphone laying not so far away from his left foot. He inconspicuously kicked it back towards Pete. "Here."

"What are you going to say?"

Shane slowly brought the microphone to his face, keeping his eyes on Pete the whole time. "Stephanie… Calm down… Back off… It's alright."

"I can't do that, Shane. Not unless Pete gets his damn hands off of you."

"I said it's alright. Go. Please."

Pete was extremely surprised when Stephanie turned and left, taking her small posse of Alliance wrestlers with her. The wrestlers from the World Wrestling Federation, not including Chris Jericho, slid out of the ring and started making their way up the ramp.

Turning his attention back to Shane, Pete straightened out his hand and lowered it. "You're being honest about the Rodney thing?"

"Yes."

Pete sighed, then stood up and walked over to Chris Jericho. "Let's go."

When Pete and Chris Jericho got backstage, Vince McMahon stormed straight up to them, face red and steam coming out of his ears.

"Oh shit. We're screwed." Chris mumbled.

"Jericho. Locker-room. Now," Vince and Pete watched as Chris stalked away, then Vince turned to look Pete in the eyes. "You ignored a direct order to stay the hell away from the ring until you get a tag team partner."

"Oh, really? Is that the only order I ignored?"

"No, you little smart ass. You put your damn hands on my son. That one's going to cost you big time."

"Why the hell are you being so protective of him after everything he's done?!"

Vince huffed in annoyance. "That's none of your damn concern, Gasparino."

"I think it is. You were excited as hell any time someone managed to get a hold of him and knock him around. All of a sudden he's out for a week and you don't want me to lay my hands on him? I think I deserve some sort of explanation especially since they stole my damn faction."

"He's still my son, dammit!" Vince seethed.

"He's a little bastard."

"You'd better watch yourself. You're walking on thin ice already. Don't make me strip you of those tag titles and suspend you. I don't want to talk to you or look at you until you find a damn partner." Vince growled, then stomped away.

Pete turned and leaned against the wall, looking down the long hallway at Vince's next target on his usual Godzilla impersonation path: Brian Christopher Lawler.


	16. Chapter 16

In Too Deep  
Chapter 16

It was October 29th when Vince challenged Shane to a WrestleMania rematch... And Sarah felt an odd sense of déjà vu. Her and Pete were, once again, sitting in complete silence in what used to be known as the Mean Street Posse locker-room. Sarah was starting to get over the feeling of hopelessness she had developed when Rodney jumped ships to the Alliance, especially when it came to helping Pete through the abandonment issues he had... Mainly thanks to Chris Jericho, who Pete had started talking to a lot in Rodney's absence.

And, of course, thanks to Pete's new tag team partner, Brian "Grand Master Sexay" Lawler.

"Oh, for the love of God, don't do it!" Pete shouted.

Brian and Sarah looked at one another, then back at Pete.

"You know how Vince is, Pete." Sarah stated.

Pete shifted uncomfortably, then looked Sarah in the eyes. "I think I have the right to be sick of this stupid Alliance shit."

"You do, and you aren't the only one."

Pete turned to look at Brian. "Oh? Did your faction up and leave you for the enemy?"

"No, but I was nearly fired because I was set up by the enemy."

Pete stared blankly at Brian for a few moments. "Care to explain?"

Brian sighed. "Well... Earlier in the year, as we all know, Vince fired my dad, which left room for Paul Heyman to be hired as the new commentator... In June, when those WCW bastards started popping up like daisies, one of them planted some marijuana in my gym bag... Paul Heyman was the one to rat me out fo Vince, thus almost getting me fired."

Pete stared at Brian with his mouth gaped open.

"How'd you get out of it?" Sarah asked.

"Drug testing."

"But I thought you smoked marijuana..?" Pete asked.

"I stopped last year. Nasty habit, really," When Sarah and Pete didn't look convinced, Brian rolled his eyes. "Fine. Dad bet me $500 I couldn't stop by New Years. Guess who's five hundred bucks richer?"

Pete rolled his eyes and patted Brian on the back. "You would..."

"And I did!"

Pete, feeling somewhat calmer, settled into the couch next to Sarah. Brian smiled contentedly and leaned back against the wall, looking back down at his notebook. Sarah leaned over and, for the first time since she started hanging out with Brian, caught him off guard. She saw his notebook.

"Brian," The man in question looked up, then pulled his notebook to his chest when he realized what she wanted. "No! Don't do that! Can I see?"

Pete looked back and forth between the two, severely confused. "See what..?"

Brian sighed, then held up his notebook. Sarah smiled and took it from him. On the page was a beautiful pencil drawing of Pete and Sarah sitting together.

"It's beautiful!" Sarah exclaimed.

"Seems like J.R. was right when he used to call you 'The Prince.'" Pete stated.

"Yeah... I look like The King, wrestle because of him, and I seemed to have inherited his talent for drawing."

"Why didn't you ever tell anyone?"

"Scott knows. So does Steve."

Pete raised a confused eyebrow. "I mean... People other than your tag team partners."

Brian shrugged. "Figured nobody would care... Either that or they'd think I was trying to replace The King."

"Can I keep this?" Sarah asked.

Brian shrugged. "If you want... But it isn't done yet."

Sarah handed the book back to Brian, who took it and stared at it for a few moments. "Problem?"

"No... I'm gonna go to my mind palace," Brian situated himself so he was comfortably laying on the floor and put his headphones on. "Hit me if something happens." Brian stated, then hit play on his discman and resumed drawing.

"He's such a weirdo." Pete mumbled.

"I don't think he can hear you."

"I have to agree with you. I can hear the music from here," Pete paused for a moment. "Is that Eminem?"

"Probably. You know how Brian is."

After several moments of silence, Pete glared at the TV. "Frickin' Alliance."

"Something bothering you?"

Pete grumbled. "When isn't something bothering me?"

"I don't know. You tell me."

Pete sighed, watching as Vince and Shane got ready for their match. "I guess it would be an understatement to say the Alliance really makes me angry."

"Understatement of the century, Pete." Sarah commented.

"I guess I hate the fact my friends left me."

Sarah turned to look at him. "What?"

"Shane bought WCW... Joey signed a WCW contract... Rodney left... Vince is pissed at me for nearly killing Shane in the ring after falsely accusing him of hiring Rodney behind my back... Rodney won't answer my calls. Shane won't look at me... Joey is non-existent in my life, praise Jesus... But, still... I lost my three closest friends in a matter of six months."

Sarah patted Pete on the back. "You learn who your closest friends are during the toughest times, Pete."

Pete turned to look Sarah in the eyes. "Shane was always there for me. Hell, so was Rodney. I can't count the number of times we were called into the principals office for fighting or arguing..."

"How about the one time Rodney got knocked out and Shane broke his arm defending you from the varsity baseball  
team?"

Pete chuckled. "I remember that... Good times."

"Maybe... If you need help... They'll come running again."

"I think those times are over."

"You never know, Pete."

Pete groaned and rolled his eyes, once again turning his attention to the match. Vince was actually winning. "Shocking."

"Vince winning a match? Right?!"

As soon as Sarah finished her statement, Shane took control of the match.

"Spoke too soon." Pete commented.

"Can we just mute this? It's the exact same layout as their match from 'Mania."

"That's because Vince can't wrestle for shit." Pete stated.

Sarah chuckled. "I guess you're right about that."

They found themselves unable to look away from the match when Shane set Vince up for the Coast-2-Coast. They were shocked as all living hell when, mid-way through the jump, Vince stood up and held the garbage can to the side - successfully making Shane smash his knees.

"What the-?!"

Pete leaned closer to the TV and watched - through narrowed eyes - as some members of the Alliance made their way to the ring and attacked Vince.

"You have got to be kidding me!"

Brian jumped and turned his attention to the TV. It was mere seconds before he was mirroring Pete. "Are you kidding me?!"

Their silent prayers were answered when The Rock led some other members of the World Wrestling Federation down to the ring and started a brawl with the Alliance. Kurt Angle eventually ran down to the ring with a chair.

"Get 'em, Angle!"

Sarah and Brian had to hold Pete back from putting his fist through the TV when Kurt Angle whirled around and started cracking members of the World Wrestling Federation in the head with the steel chair, starting with The Rock. To make matters worse, he grabbed Shane and dragged him over to Vince, then stood by as the referee counted down...

"One... Two... Three."

"Sweet mother of God..." Sarah stated.

"I think we need more than that to help us." Pete mumbled.

"First Austin... Now Angle..? Man, we're screwed..."

* * *

**A/N: As those of you who watched back in 2001 can tell, I decided to alter the whole Brian Lawler getting fired thing, because he actually did get fired for having drugs in his gym bag. I really like the guy and I was lucky enough to meet Jerry Lawler a few weeks ago, so I wanted to write Brian into the story. **


	17. Chapter 17

In Too Deep  
Chapter 17

"I'm telling you... Someone is spreading rumors."

Pete grunted in annoyance. "Please... We're all grown men and women... Nobody is spreading rumors... This isn't high school."

"Some people think differently, I guess..." Brian replied, tossing a French fry into his mouth.

Sarah looked back and forth between the two. "Who knows? Maybe there really is a mole."

"Yeah... But on which side of the battlefield?" Pete asked.

Brian shrugged. "Dunno... Been hearing fifteen sides to the same story... A lot of people are saying the mole is in the Alliance."

Pete nearly spit his Dr. Pepper everywhere. "What?!"

"That's what the word is." Brian replied, once again shrugged his shoulders and shoving a French fry into his mouth.

Pete stayed silent for a few moments, trying to think the situation through. If it was only a rumor that there was a mole in the Alliance... "Then there's also a possibility that there is no mole..?"

"No, Vince said there was definitely a mole... He said it on the show about ten minutes ago." Sarah replied.

Pete rolled his eyes. "Okay, so if there really is a mole, we have no idea if he or she is in the Alliance or the World Wrestling Federation..? I mean, it could be anyone."

"Correct," Pete, Brian and Sarah whirled around to face Vince McMahon, wondering when he snuck into their locker-room. "Which is why I want to have the advantage."

"Technically, you already do. This is World Wrestling Federation turf. Your money, your arena for the night. Just call massive amounts of security and get them thrown out of here."

Vince tutted at him. "I can't do that, Mr. Gasparino... It's business, and you'll understand it all one day," Vince paused to acknowledge the agitated look Pete was giving him. "That being said, I want to make you an offer."

Pete raised a confused eyebrow. "What kind of offer?"

"Your contract."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"I want you to be the mole in the Alliance."

Pete's face immediately twisted in anger. "How could you ask me to do such a thing?!"

"You have friends on the inside, Mr. Gasparino. Shane, no matter what issues the two of you might be having, will always come running if you ask him to. Same goes for Mr. Leinhardt. Joey is simply a little piece of shit, so don't expect anything from him... But, as I was saying... You can easily manipulate Shane... And a manipulated boss is a bad one."

Pete narrowed his eyes angrily. "Okay... How come you want me to mess with Shane now, but I couldn't touch him a few weeks ago..?"

"Mental manipulation is a far cry from physical abuse, which you were clearly planning."

Pete rolled is eyes. "Is that your take on parenting, as well?"

"Peter!"

Pete looked over at Sarah, then sighed and looked back at Vince. "Vince... You know how I feel about the Alliance..."

"Hence why I'm asking you to jump ships."

"I refuse to be affiliated with them in any way, shape or form, Mr. McMahon," Pete paused to lean towards Vince ever so slightly. "And I refuse to fuck with Shane's head."

Vince set his jaw, then took a deep breath. "So be it, Mr. Gasparino," He turned and started walking towards the door, then stopped and turned to face Pete again. "There's going to be a classic Survivor Series match between the World Wrestling Federation and the Alliance. If I were you, I'd pay close attention to the competitors when they're announced later on this evening."

The trio watched as Vince left, then remained silent for a few moments.

"Damn." Brian stated.

"I'd like to say more than just 'damn,' but I think that'll do just fine for now." Pete commented.

Brian turned to look at Pete. "I seriously cannot believe he said that to you... How the hell did he even think asking you to defect to the Alliance was going to work?"

"Probably because, as he said, my friends are in the Alliance... Shane and Rodney, not Joey."

"I'm your friend, aren't I?" Brian asked.

"Of course you are... But I've known Shane and Rodney for ages."

"Understandable."

"He's trying to use that against you... Vince probably figures that, if you're willing to be the mole in the Alliance, he'll make you convince Rodney and Shane to ask his forgiveness... Or take part in screwing the Alliance over." Sarah stated.

"Sweet mother of God..." Brian commented, clearly awestruck.

"That's impressive."

"I know. It would work, too... I mean... Rodney is probably only there for Shane, and Shane constantly says Heyman and Steph treat him like crap..."

Pete shrugged. "I already said no, and I'm not planning on changing my mind."

"Okay, have it your way." Sarah replied.

"You're better off that way, if you ask me..." Brian said, patting Pete on the back.

"We might as well actually pay attention to Raw for the stupid announcement." Pete growled, finally turning his attention towards the forgotten television in the locker-room.

The trio tuned in just in time to hear the official announcement regarding the competitors in the "Winner Takes All" classic five-on-five Survivor Series match. For Team Alliance: Shane McMahon, Booker T, Joey Abs, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin and Rob Van Dam. For Team World Wrestling Federation: The Rock, Kane, The Undertaker, Chris Jericho and Pete Gas.

Brian and Sarah turned to look at Pete. The man's mouth was gaped open ever so slightly as he stared at the television in shock. He said he wanted nothing to do with the Alliance, so Vince saw fit to put him in that stupid match!?

"The nerve of that evil asshole!" Pete finally shouted.

"It could work out to your advantage..?" Sarah offered.

"How?! Joey knocks me out and Shane eliminates me from the match?!"

Sarah, lost for words, looked over at Brian for help.

"Well, look at it this way, Pete... It could be worse."

"Yeah? How?!"

"You could be on Team Alliance instead of Team World Wrestling Federation."

Pete pondered that thought, then sighed. "True."

After a few moments of silence, Sarah turned to look at Pete. "Feeling better?"

"Yeah... I'm gonna kick some Alliance ass!"

Brian smiled. "That's the spirit!"


	18. Chapter 18

In Too Deep  
Chapter 18

Vince wanted what was best for his Survivor Series team... So, of course, that meant sticking them in the same room for the entire evening. Sarah was surprised they hadn't killed each other already... But, the night was still young, and one should never underestimate The Rock's ego, especially when it's trapped in a room with Kane, The Undertaker and Chris Jericho.

Sarah was also surprised that Vince was allowing her and Brian in the room. Then again, Vince probably figured Pete needed the most sanity out of everyone in the locker-room, mostly because he was going up against two of his former Mean Street Posse team mates, Shane McMahon and Joey Abs. She looked over at Pete and saw him leaning against the wall listening to whatever Brian was saying, and occasionally cracking a smile or laughing. She had to admit, Brian was a great asset... She only wished they started hanging out with him sooner.

The room suddenly went quiet when Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson finally entered, and remained so until he was standing in the middle of the room looking down on everyone. "So... What's this I hear about a possible mole in the World Wrestling Federation?"

The Undertaker, Kane, Chris Jericho and Pete looked around at one another. Sarah could tell the other men didn't like having to team with Dwayne; and they probably didn't even want him back in the business.

"It's possible the mole is in the Alliance." The Undertaker finally commented, making everyone turn to look at him instead of Dwayne.

"It's also possible the mole is in the World Wrestling Federation." Dwayne finally retorted.

"Says who?" Kane asked.

"Mr. McMahon."

"What do you suggest we do, then? Go around interrogating everyone?" The Undertaker asked.

"Why bother? The mole won't tell the truth... Especially to us." Chris stated.

Pete scratched his neck uncomfortably. "I'm gonna have to side with Chris on this one. The mole isn't going to admit what they're up to. Especially not to the guys who are fighting on team World Wrestling Federation at Survivor Series."

Dwayne turned to look at Pete. "Well, you siding with Chris doesn't surprise me that much... Especially since I think the mole is in this room."

Pete inched away from the wall ever so slightly, narrowing his eyes angrily at Dwayne. "I know damn well you're not talking about me."

Dwayne crossed his arms over his chest and looked down on Pete. "Why? Have a guilty conscience?"

"If I'm thinking with your limited amount of logic, which I believe I am, you think I'm the only one in this room who has a reason to help the Alliance defeat team WWF at Survivor Series."

"Well, your whole faction did abandon you..." Dwayne stated.

Pete rolled his eyes. "Not my choice for them to do so. But I'll tell you what I told Vince... I'm team WWF all the way. If the boss himself can't even convince me to be the mole in the Alliance, nobody in the Alliance, including my old faction, can do so."

"Not even Shane McMahon?"

Pete's eyes narrowed dangerously at Dwayne's suggestion. "I already told you I don't want to jump. And I'm not a spy. So you can shut your damn mouth and leave Shane out of it."

"Why?" Dwayne asked.

"Because Vince doesn't want his name tossed around. Don't ask me why. I can't get him to tell me."

"Maybe because you tossed him around when Vince asked you not to." The Undertaker stated.

"Speaking from personal experience, are we?" Pete asked, turning to look at the bigger man.

The Undertaker's eyes narrowed ever so slightly, but he said nothing. Instead, he chose to lean against the wall, never once taking his eyes off of Pete and Dwayne.

"Vince steered 'Taker in Shane's direction, so don't you dare use that to your advantage. You were told to keep your hands off of him, but you didn't." Kane argued, surprising everyone in the room.

"Calm yourself." Undertaker mumbled, placing a hand on his tag team partner's shoulder.

"Are you guys seriously thinking I'm the bad guy?!" Pete shouted.

"If the shoe fits." Dwayne commented.

"Pete was asked last week by Mr. McMahon to jump ships on the World Wrestling Federation so he can be our mole in the Alliance, but he said no." Brian stated.

"Shut up, low life. Let the big boys handle things." Dwayne growled, making Brian narrow his eyes angrily.

"I've had just about enough of your mouth, sellout," Jericho shouted, making everyone turn to look at him. "You weren't even here in the beginning of the invasion, so you should shut your damn trap and let _us_ handle things. If what Brian says is true, I don't think Pete is the mole. Actually, I don't even think the mole is in the World Wrestling Federation. I think they're in the Alliance."

"What makes you so sure about that?" Kane asked.

"Well... Is there anyone we acquired from the Alliance that still seems friendly with them?"

"...No... The Alliance has been stealing guys from the World Wrestling Federation..." The Undertaker replied.

"Exactly. So who's to say it isn't one of those guys?"

The room was silent as everyone contemplated Chris Jericho's words. He did have a point, after all.

"I guess you're right." The Undertaker stated, finally pushing off of the wall and un-narrowing his eyes.

Dwayne sputtered, making everyone look over at him. "What..? You're seriously going to listen to _him_ over _me_?!"

"He's been around here this year longer than you were, Dwayne. Besides, he has one hell of a point. The World Wrestling Federation didn't get many Alliance stars."

"But they got the majority of the Mean Street Posse!" Dwayne shouted, pointing an accusing finger at Pete.

Pete groaned and rolled his eyes. "I seriously thought we were passed this."

"Some people just like being over dramatic and annoying. Ignore him." Chris stated.

"Don't ignore him. He's on team WWF."

"But he's being an annoying little shit that can't understand Pete isn't the mole!"

"I've had enough of your mouth, Jericho!"

Before anyone thought to separate the two, Dwayne and Chris were in the middle of the room exchanging fists and trying to knock one another to the ground. Chris eventually succeeded, and the two then started rolling around the floor punching each other in the face. Pete went to separate the two, but Kane grabbed his arm.

"Dwayne will only pull you into it."

As Pete contemplated the words, The Undertaker walked around them and over to Chris and Dwayne. He waited until Dwayne rolled Chris onto the floor, then grabbed Dwayne and pulled him upwards, completely lifting the smaller man off of the floor.

"Stop it, you ignorant little shit."

"He started it!" Dwayne shouted, squirming like a small child.

"Did not." Chris replied.

The door to the locker-room opened, and everyone froze in their spots.

"What in the blue hell is going on here?!"

The Undertaker dropped Dwayne, who landed on the floor with a soft thump.

"Nothing, Mr. McMahon... It's so nice to see you..."


End file.
